


My Favourite Faded Fantasy

by Raginage



Series: Unexpected love [2]
Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Actually it's more like parent trap but where the parents do the trapping, Angst with a Happy Ending, Divorce, F/F, Fluff and Angst, It's like a fake dating AU but they're already married and going through a divorce, Lost Love, Lots of Angst, falling back in love, just trust me guys, lots of fluff as well
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:20:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29227617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raginage/pseuds/Raginage
Summary: “We can’t keep doing this, Jamie.”“Doin’ what?”“Pretending that there’s still hope for us, hope that things will go back to the way they used to be.”“What are you saying, Dani?”“I- I want a divorce.”(AU) Sequel to "Unexpected Love."(It's like a fake dating AU but with a twist). Jamie and Dani have been happily married for six years. However, unexpected complications prove to be too much to handle for the couple and divorce seems the only logical thing to do. But seeing as Jamie's mom's wedding is right around the corner, and with everything Jamie's mom has done for Dani, she doesn't want to break her heart right before her big day. So Jamie and Dani agree to pretend they're still happy and in love for the ten days they're scheduled to visit with her.A lot can change in ten days, especially when two idiots are still in love and when one of those idiot's parents knows the truth about them and decides it's time they get involved.
Relationships: Dani Clayton & Jamie, Dani Clayton/Jamie, Edmund O'Mara and Steven Crain, Hannah Grose & Owen Sharma
Series: Unexpected love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2145852
Comments: 78
Kudos: 176





	1. The plan

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, I'm telling you now this is going to pull at your heart strings, but there will be happy flashbacks, and eventually a happy ending!
> 
> Writing this fic based this off the song "My Favourite Faded Fantasy" by Damien Rice.
> 
> Also, feel free to join the Jamie and Dani discord. We have lots of awesome discussions and different channels. We'd love to have more people join!
> 
> https://discord.gg/druy8kU4EE

_“I can’t keep doing this, Jamie.”_

_“Doin’ what?”_

_“Pretending that there’s still hope for us, hope for this to work itself out.”_

_“What are you saying, Dani?”_

_“I- I want a divorce.”_

The air was stale inside of Jamie’s club, the scent of spilled whiskey and beer roamed through the air as Jamie sat alone, nursing her scotch. She replayed the conversation over and over again inside of her head. She wasn’t sure if she was expecting a different outcome every time she repeated the words, or maybe she was just trying to figure out the exact moment it all went wrong.

Sure she knew the primary cause that started hers and Dani’s downward spiral, but she never thought it would be the downfall of their six year marriage.

Six years was not enough time for Jamie, if Jamie really had a say, even the rest of their lives wouldn’t be enough time to spend with Dani. But six years was not what she expected when she stood side by side with Dani at Owen’s cottage, vowing to love and protect her no matter the circumstances.

It wasn’t enough time to complete all the things she had wanted to do with Dani. Sure, they bought their first home after getting married, but Jamie had every intention of filling that home with a bunch of miniature Dani’s running around, keeping them both on their toes.

Jamie felt the bar-top vibrate when her phone indicated a new notification. She unlocked the screen and frowned when she saw she had a missed call from Dani.

They hadn’t spoken all week, not since Dani had requested a divorce from Jamie on Sunday. Now here she was on Friday, drinking her sorrows away after the club had finally emptied of the last of its customers, wondering why Dani would possibly be calling her at three-thirty in the morning.

Jamie let out a defeated sigh as she clutched onto the glass and brought it up to her mouth, she threw her head back and let the rest of her scotch slide smoothly down her throat, burning away all the regret and agony she could feel sitting in the pit of her stomach like a burning ball of fear.

She arrived home roughly fifteen minutes later, driving faster than anyone with three drinks in their system should be driving. When she unlocked the door, she felt her heart drop as she saw Dani standing in front of her, with her hands on her hips wearing the purple robe Jamie had given to her two years back.

“Where were you, I called you forty minutes ago?” Jamie could hear the irritation in her voice and wanted to crumble to the floor as Dani continued to eye her suspiciously, waiting for an answer.

“Just had myself a few drinks after the club shut down, needed to think.” Jamie winced as she knew too well how these conversations would go lately. She decided she was not in the mood tonight, and because Dani had already given up on them, she didn’t owe her any sort of explanation behind her actions. “Besides, why d’you care? Aren’t you the one who asked for a divorce not even a week ago?” She regretted the words the second they started flowing from her mouth.

Right,” Dani scoffed. “You know Jamie-” Dani pursed her lips as she stared coldly into her eyes. Jamie could feel her heart pounding out of her chest, a feeling that was becoming all too familiar ever since she and Dani had started falling apart. “Never mind,” Dani rolled her eyes and turned around to walk up the stairs. She then froze and slightly turned her neck to look back at Jamie. “We need to talk tomorrow, when you’re fully sobered up.”

“Bloody hell, what more could there possibly be to talk about? Isn’t a divorce as far as we can go?” Jamie swallowed the lump in her throat, unsure at this point if it was from the alcohol or the nerves she got while talking to the woman she was still very much in love with, who clearly no longer felt the same way.

“Your mom called, we’ll talk about it tomorrow and discuss it.” Dani then left Jamie standing in the hallway alone, shaking from head to toe with shame.

She slowly kicked her boots off, stumbling into the wall as she did so. She wasn’t quite drunk as much as she was anxious, she wondered what Dani wanted to talk about and hated that she had to wait until the morning to find out.

She gripped onto the rail tightly as she made her way up the stairs, not wanting to turn on the light and possibly upset Dani even more than she already had.

She ran her hand through her hair as she stood in front of the spare bedroom doorway, looking back and forth between hers and Dani’s once shared room, to her new accommodation. She and Dani had at least managed to share a bed for the last year, even when things were fully at their worst, right up until the very end on Sunday evening.

Dani had never pushed Jamie out, she never told her she couldn’t sleep in their room. But Jamie knew it wouldn’t be right, couples going through separation don’t continue to share a room together, especially when one of them can’t stand the other.

She pushed open the door and didn’t bother with the light, not feeling any motivation to change from her current attire, even though it reeked of spilled alcohol from the busy night she had just endured.

She sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed a picture frame from the nightstand. She then turned the flashlight of her phone on and stared at the photo in the frame, wondering to herself when this had become her nightly routine, even though she knew what the answer was - the night Dani had broken her heart.

She brushed her fingers along the glass of the frame, smiling to herself as she inspected every detail of the photo in hand. From the puffy blue winter jacket Dani was wearing that was covered in snowflakes, to the giant grin on Dani’s face. Her finger tips traced over the knitted pink cap that was perched on top of Dani’s head, that was pulled so far down it nearly covered her beautiful blue eyes that were squinting at the camera, showing everyone how blissful she was at that moment. Then there was Jamie, not even looking at the camera because she was too busy being focused on Dani, appreciating how lucky she was at that current moment, soaking in the significance of what had just occurred right before the photo was taken.

_December 24th 2014_

_Jamie had her eyes tightly focused on the road ahead as snow fell fast and heavily from above, the headlights of their car was causing a slight blur so Jamie turned the windshield wipers up to the fastest speed offered._

_“Christ, the snow is falling hard.” Jamie muttered as she leaned forward in her seat, closely pressed against the wheel for full control._

_“Yeah it is, but you’re doing great baby. I know you’ll get us there safely.” Dani rested her hand on top of Jamie’s thigh and gently stroked up and down in an attempt to ease her girlfriend._

_“Keep stroking my thigh like that and I’m not so sure I will,” Jamie smirked. She removed her white knuckled hand from the steering wheel and rested it on top of Dani’s, squeezing with all the appreciation she could muster._

_“I wasn’t even doing it in a sexual way!” Dani retorted. She then smiled widely at Jamie, feeling the heat on her cheeks radiate, approving of the fact that she could still have that type of effect on Jamie even after two years of being together._

_“You know it doesn’t take much, not when I feel about you the way that I do.” Jamie glanced over and saw the tinge of red in Dani’s cheeks. “Two years later and I can still make you blush harder than a teenager seeing David Beckham shirtless for the first time.”_

_“I wouldn’t know, I always preferred Victoria.” Dani smirked._

_“Course, who wouldn’t? Though for me, I was all about Baby Spice.”_

_“Really?” Dani raised an eyebrow._

_Jamie let out an exaggerated sigh, “what can I say? I have a thing for blondes.” She winked._

_Dani threw her head back in laughter and shook her head in amusement. “I guess I should cancel the appointment to dye my hair brown then eh?”_

_“You were going to dye your hair brown?” Jamie quickly looked over at Dani and then cussed as the car inched into the other lane on the road._

_“Ah ah, eyes on the road.” Dani patted Jamie’s leg. “And no, I was just teasing.”_

_“I was going to say, I’d love you no matter what you had on top of your head, but I do love the blonde.” Jamie chuckled._

_“I know,” Dani leaned forward and pressed her lips against the side of Jamie’s face. “So, did Owen mention when Eddie and Steve would be arriving at the cottage?”_

_“He said they’d be arriving later tonight, I guess they had dinner with Steve’s family first.” Jamie shrugged._

_“Oh well then they definitely won’t be showing up until way later, with the size of Steve’s family, it’ll be a miracle if they make it tonight at all.” Dani laughed._

_“Yeah, must be nice though. I always wanted to have a big family to celebrate Christmas with, but only ever had my sister and my step brother.” Jamie turned the high beams of the car on and quickly turned them off, immediately discovering how much worse it was with them on._

_“Well, I like this new tradition. Spending Christmas with our best friends, and the person I am crazy in love with, what more could I ask for?” Dani smiled as she saw the familiar cottage up ahead, feeling relaxed knowing that they had finally made it safe and wouldn’t have to deal with the weather any longer._

_Jamie parked the car and exhaled loudly, as though she had been holding her breath for the last few minutes. “You can breath now baby, you got us here safe and sound, just like I knew you would.” Dani raised her hand and slowly cupped the side of Jamie’s face, forcing her to turn and face her. “Hey there,” she smirked._

_“Why hello to you too, Poppins.” Jamie laughed._

_“You know,” Dani toyed with her bottom lip as she continued to stare at Jamie. “It’s been killing me that I haven’t been able to kiss you for the last three hours,” She whispered._

_“Well then, I suppose I should put you out of your misery?” Jamie smirked as she slowly leaned forward, stopping just as her lips grazed against Dani’s._

_“Tease.” Dani gasped as Jamie grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her in, letting her finally taste what she had been craving since they started driving._

_Kissing Jamie had never gotten old, only more exciting with each passing day. They learned from one another, discovering what exactly makes them tick, or what can bring them over the edge from “Hey, how was work?” to “Take me upstairs right this second or we’ll be having sex against the front door again.”_

_Dani hummed as she felt Jamie slowly and tenderly move her lips in sync with hers, falling in love all over again with each tug she felt against her hair as Jamie got more and more desperate._

_“Oye, love birds.” Jamie let out a frustrated sigh as she slowly pulled back, keeping her eyes tightly shut._

_“_ _I hate him,” she muttered._

_Dani laughed and quickly pressed another kiss against Jamie’s lips. “Come on, he’s just excited to see us.” Dani opened the car door and waved at Hannah and Owen who stood staring at them from the doorway._

_“Took you lot long enough,” Hannah smiled. “I was getting worried.”_

_“Nothing to worry about when it comes to my driving skills.” Jamie shouted from behind the car as she pulled out hers and Dani’s bags. She then walked to the front door and dropped them in front of Owen._

_“It’s a cold one tonight,” Dani shivered._

_“Freezing your tits off, yeah?” Jamie smirked._

_“Pretty close to it.” Dani chuckled as she crossed her arms and ran her hands up and down trying to create heat from the friction she was causing._

_“Well here, let me help with that.” Jamie quipped as she quickly shoved her hand down the front of Dani’s coat with a fist full of snow, giggling like a child when she saw her girlfriend’s eyes grow wide in distress._

_“Jamie!” Dani yelled as she jumped up and down, pulling at her jacket, trying to shake the snow out. “I’m so going to get you for that.” Dani then chased after Jamie through the yard as Jamie continued to run zig zags._

_“And you say I’m childish,” Owen muttered to Hannah, who playfully slapped him in return._

_Eventually, Dani faked going right, causing Jamie to dodge to the left and get caught off guard as Dani lunged at her. Jamie flew backwards into the snow and rested her head against the ground as the weight of her girlfriend kept her pinned into the cold fluffiness._

_“Gotcha,” Dani smirked. She then grabbed a chunk of snow beside her and slammed it into her face._

_“Damn Poppins, that’s cold.” Jamie gasped._

_“Was that pun intended?” Owen yelled from the doorway, laughing when he heard both Jamie and Dani groan._

_Eventually, they all made their way inside, with Dani and Jamie immediately heading to the guest room to change out of their cold and wet clothes._

_When they emerged minutes later, Dani squealed in excitement as she saw Eddie standing in the hallway, his arm wrapped around his boyfriend Steve._

_“Eddie,” Dani yelled. Eddie smiled as he untangled himself from Steve and held his arms wide open, catching her as she leapt forward into his arms. “I’m so glad you guys could make it, how are you? I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.” Dani muffled into his shoulder._

_Eddie laughed and kissed the top of her head. “It’s been a month, and that’s only because Steve has been so damn busy with his book tour.” Eddie looked over at the tall brunette beside him and winked._

_“How’s that going?” Dani pulled away from Eddie and then grabbed Steve into a hug._

_“Great, actually. People love a good horror story. It’s been steady, but I love it.” Steve chuckled as he pulled back and ruffled Dani’s hair, which he did quite often to her. It never really bothered Dani though, it always just reminded her of her older brother’s back home. She had appreciated that Eddie fell in love with someone that she quickly found herself growing attached to, the same way as she had always been with Eddie._

_“Good,” Dani smiled._

_“He left out the part where it’s been a huge pain in my ass because I’ve barely seen him the last couple of weeks.” Eddie sighed. “And speaking of huge pain in my ass,” Eddie nudged Dani playfully as he saw Jamie making her way down the hall._

_“Yeah yeah, you’re not still upset that I had to cut you off last month because you all got too drunk, are you?” Jamie’s sly smile spread across her face as she approached Eddie, happily being accepted into a giant bear hug._

_She had not expected to grow so close with Dani’s ex, even though they ended on such good terms, Jamie feared it might be awkward between them. But ever since Hannah and Owen’s wedding where the two of them had gotten so drunk that they ended up on the dance floor at the end of the night doing a dance off to the macarena, Jamie had now considered Eddie as one of her best friend’s._

_“Missed ya, nerd.” Jamie laughed when Eddie instantly pushed her away._

_“I’ll have you know, gay nerds are what’s in right now.” Eddie scoffed._

_The rest of the night had gone by fast, drinks and laughs passed through the room like it was some sort of reunion, even though they all constantly got together at least once a month, usually at Jamie’s club._

_By one in the morning, everyone had gone off to bed, except for Hannah and Jamie. The two of them snuck outside and worked together on building a giant snowman._

_“It’s too bloody cold for this, you’re mental for making me help you.” Hannah shivered as she packed the last bit of snow to help round out the snowman’s middle._

_“You insisted on helping me, I believe your exact words were “If I leave it up to you, you’ll end up adding really big boobs or a giant dick to it.” Jamie recited, smirking as she slowly lowered the carrot from the Snowman’s face down to it’s center._

_“Posh, I just want everything to be perfect.” Hannah looked over at Jamie and rolled her eyes when she saw the intent in her actions. “I swear Jamie, if that carrot goes anywhere other than that snowman’s nose, you’ll be finding it up your arse when you wake up.”_

_Jamie laughed and quickly shoved it into the snowman’s face. “Don’t worry Han, I want it to be just as perfect.” Jamie smiled as she stood back, admiring their work._

_“Good,” Hannah smiled and wrapped an arm around Jamie’s shoulders. “Now as both yours and Dani’s best friend, I have to ask - are you sure you’re ready?”_

_“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my entire life,” Jamie nodded, not missing a beat._

_“Well then, let’s get to bed. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow!” Hannah gently squeezed Jamie into her side, half hugging her. She then walked into the house, leaving Jamie to follow._

_Jamie bit her bottom lip as she felt her stomach start to twist and turn. She had known she wanted to marry Dani since the day they started dating, but she knew they were in no rush and wanted to make sure they could work well together as a couple first. She knew Dani loved her and would likely say yes, but she couldn’t help worry as she stood and mentally prepared herself for the one thing she had spent most of her life avoiding and running away from._

Jamie woke up in the morning, her head pounding. She felt a tiny object sitting in her arms as she woke up on her back. She pulled the photo frame from her chest and frowned as she placed it down beside her, back onto the nightstand.

She groaned as she got up and slowly made her ways downstairs, her muscles aching from the bed in the spare bedroom. While it was definitely comfy, it was much softer than the firm memory foam she was used to in hers and Dani’s bedroom.

She entered the kitchen, rubbing her neck, the fresh smell of coffee lingering in the tip of her nose. She saw Dani sitting at the table, scrolling through her phone as she silently sipped from her mug.

Jamie went through the cupboard and grabbed an Earl Grey tea bag, placing it into her favourite mug. She filled the kettle and placed it on top of the stove, waiting for the loud whistle to break the awkward silence that was settled in the room.

After a couple of minutes, Dani had broken the silence. “Rough morning?” She kept her eyes on her phone even though the question was clearly directed to Jamie.

“Guess you could say that,” Jamie mumbled.

“You smell like cigarettes and stale alcohol,” Dani pointed out. She put her phone down and finally looked up at Jamie, frowning.

“Right, good to know. I’ll take a shower after I’ve had my tea, thanks.” Jamie rolled her eyes, feeling her heart start to race.

“Do you remember our conversation last night?” Dani stared at Jamie suspiciously, as if she were expecting her to say no.

“Course, I wasn’t that bloody drunk. You said my mom called?” Jamie turned away from Dani as she heard the kettle’s whistle go off. She poured herself some hot water and walked to the fridge.

“Yeah, she asked how we were doing.” Dani spoke slowly, waiting for Jamie to piece together what could be so important.

Jamie didn’t answer, she grabbed the milk from the fridge and added a splash to her tea. She then slowly brought her mug up to her lips and savoured the taste as she took the tiniest sip. After a moment of silence, she finally responded. “And how did she take the news about losing her favourite Daughter-in-law?” The spite in Jamie’s words sent chills down Dani’s spine.

“I didn’t tell her,” Dani casually replied. Jamie choked on the tiny amount of tea she had just swallowed and cussed as she felt a burning sensation running down her chest. She looked down and saw she had accidentally spilled on herself.

She grabbed a towel and dabbed at her chest, taking her time to let Dani’s response sink in. After a moment, she sighed and swallowed down the nerves she felt tightening in her throat. She hated that this is how she felt around the woman she loved now, nervous and scared almost.

“And why not?” Jamie finally asked the dreaded question.

“Because of the wedding?” Dani raised an eyebrow at Jamie, daring her to admit she had forgotten that her mom and her boyfriend were getting married in two weeks.

“Right, but what does that have to do with you?” Jamie knows Dani already took the time off work to go visit her mom with her for ten days, but she never expected her to actually want to go now that they decided to call it quits.

“Your mom is a mother to me, Jamie. She accepted me the first day she met me, unlike my mom who took a bit longer to accept you. So I will always hold a special place in my heart for her, I don’t want to give her that sort of stress right before her big day, that would be terrible for us to do.” Dani got up from the table and walked towards Jamie.

“So what then, we just go to see her for ten days and act like everything is normal?” Jamie forced a laugh in response, causing Dani to roll her eyes.

“Yes exactly, as far as I’m concerned, we’ve been basically putting on a show for everyone for the last year anyways. What’s the difference now?”

Dani’s words stung inside of Jamie’s chest. The difference was now it was official that she and Dani were calling it quits. At least before, she wasn’t only pretending for her family, she was also pretending for herself because even though Dani may have fallen out of love with her and was putting on a show for the sake of other people, for Jamie it was all real. During those moments, she could trick her mind into forgetting the pain she had felt on a day to day basis as the touch of Dani continued to burn away from her skin the longer they went without being intimate with each other. She could trick her mind into thinking that maybe if she tried hard enough, she would remind Dani of the love they once shared, and then maybe Dani would go home at the end of the visit ready to work together to fix what was slowly but surely breaking them apart.

“So what do you say?” Dani suddenly snapped Jamie from her thoughts. “Think you could pretend to love me for ten days or will that be too hard?”

“I-” Jamie felt her chest tighten as her eyes drifted to the floor. Pretend to love her? Jamie had never once stopped loving her. Even now, when Dani was spiteful, rude and cold towards her, Jamie still loved her more than anything else in the world. She would continue to love Danielle Taylor until the day she dies. “Yeah, I reckon that’ll work just fine.” She sighed and mentally kicked herself, wishing she had the guts to grab Dani and shake her, shake some sense into her telling her that this is stupid. Reminding her that when they got married, they vowed to work through every problem together, no matter how big or small.

“Great, well this was a fun chat.” Dani put her mug into the sink and stood with her back towards Jamie. “I guess I’ll see you after work.” Dani quickly spun around and left Jamie alone in the kitchen, tears lingering at the edge of her eyes.

Dani ran towards the bathroom and closed the door as quickly as possible. She gasped for air as she felt hot tears spill down her face. Her fingers clenched into the sink as she inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to get the heavy sinking feeling out of her chest.

She turned on the tap and started to splash cold water onto her face, letting every drop wash away the pain she could feel raging inside of her. As she turned the knob off, she looked down at her shaky hand and couldn’t help but smile as she admired the engagement ring that sat just below her wedding ring, silently cherishing the day Jamie had truly shown her how much she had grown.

_December 25th 2014_

_Dani jolted awake from her peaceful slumber when a loud bang came from the bedroom window. She grabbed her phone and checked the time, groaning when she saw it was only seven-thirty in the morning._

_At first she had assumed she dreamt the bang, so she reached over to pull Jamie closer into her so that she could cuddle herself back to sleep. However, her hand was met with cold sheets and an empty space. She looked around the room and jumped once again as another bang hit the window._

_She rubbed her eyes and got out of bed, quickly running to check what was causing all the commotion. She squinted when she saw Jamie standing in the driveway, a snowball in her hand and a smirk plastered on her face. Dani opened the window and was immediately met with a gust of wind. “What are you doing?” Dani sighed._

_“Having a snowball fight with the window, can you guess who’s winning?” Jamie replied_

_“It’s so early, why are you doing this?” Dani whined._

_“Humour me Poppins, put something warm on and meet me outside.” Jamie winked._

_“Fine,” Dani rolled her eyes. She closed the window and quickly threw on a sweater and pair of sweatpants. She ran down the stairs and grabbed her jacket and knitted cap, throwing them both on as quickly as possible._

_When she opened the door, she couldn’t find Jamie anywhere. She looked around and sighed. “Jamie, it’s cold out. Where did you go?” She yelled out._

_Suddenly, she yelped when she was hit with a large snowball. Her eyes searched the area and she still couldn’t locate where her girlfriend was. “That’s not funny,” she whined._

_She was about to declare defeat and head back inside when suddenly Jamie finally spoke up. “Check the snowman.” She deepened her voice as if she was trying to disguise it._

_Dani chuckled as she rubbed her arms to keep warm.She walked over to the snowman, wondering how she didn’t notice it until now._

_As she got closer, she noticed a note attached to it’s chest. She grabbed it and read over her girlfriend’s messy handwriting._

_“Check inside the breasts” the note read. Dani playfully rolled her eyes when she saw two big lumps sitting on the snowman’s chest. She used her left hand and started digging her fingers through the lumps, laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation._

_Eventually, her hand found something hard, she dug her fingers between the sides to loosen it and when she pulled it out, she stood still, much more confused than she already was._

_She pulled out a tiny snowman and looked it over, wondering what she was supposed to do with it. Suddenly, as her hands felt around for a clue, she discovered the bottom could open up._

_Her heart stopped and for the first time since stepping outside, her entire body went warm as a beautiful diamond ring was nestled inside. She looked around confused, jumping back when she saw Jamie kneeling in front of her, a big smile taking up half her face._

_“Jamie, I- What is this?” Dani’s heart race, she knew the answer already but in the moment, she was finding it too good to be true._

_“Here’s the thing Poppins, my life was fine before I met you. I was getting along just great with one-night stands and no commitment, never wanted to change a thing.” Jamie could feel her tears grow cold as they slowly trickled down her eyes. “But then you barge in like a woman on a mission, telling off some random stranger about why Harry Potter is a thousand times better than Twilight, and I knew right away I wanted to buy you a drink. Course, at that time it was just because I wanted to sleep with you. But then, as fate would have it, our lovely Hannah introduced me to her best friend and what do you know? It was the same cute blonde that I hadn’t been able to get off my mind ever since I first laid eyes on her.” Jamie cleared her throat as her vision fogged._

_Dani smiled softly through her own tears as she watched Jamie, her stomach filled with butterflies._

_“Well, turns out I really liked driving that blonde crazy. See, whenever she got annoyed or angry with me, she’d get really flustered and cute, and her eyes would get this greyish colour in them that somehow managed to make them even more beautiful than they already are. Anyways, eight months was all it took. Eight months of flirting, cheesy pick up lines, awkward double dates, arguments, heartache, oh and Hannah constantly yelling at me.” Dani laughed at the last part, remembering how rough of a start the two of them had. “And then you gave yourself to me. You took a chance, and god you are the bravest woman I have ever met.” Jamie wiped her eyes as her vision got worse and worse._

_“So now it’s my turn to be brave and give myself to you. Poppins, I never wanted anything more than a one-night stand until I met you. Now, all I want to do is spend the rest of my life with you, waking up every day and telling you how beautiful you are and showing you how much I love you so just-" Jamie briefly closed her eyes and slowly exhaled. "Marry me, would ya?"_

_Jamie bit her bottom lip as Dani stood silently, tears still spilling from her eyes. After a minute, Jamie could feel her nerves getting the better of her. “It’s a bit cold out so feel free-” She was immediately cut off by Dani’s lips against hers, getting knocked back into the snow._

_Dani pulled back and started pressing kisses to every inch of Jamie’s face, peppering her whenever she could find exposed skin._

_“So is that a no?” Jamie mumbled._

_Dani pulled back, laughing. “Obviously yes,” she kissed her and pulled back. “Yes,” she kissed her again. She continued to kiss her, whispering yes’s against her lips until she was out of breath and had to pull back for air._

_They rested their foreheads against each other, both of them keeping their eyes closed, soaking in the wonderful moment._

_“I love you so much,” Dani whispered._

_“I love you so much more,” Jamie nuzzled her nose against Dani’s and pulled her in for one more kiss. This kiss was different though, it was deeper and more gentle than any other kiss she could ever recall. It was a kiss that was also a promise, a silent agreement Jamie made with herself that this was only just the beginning and that she would spend the rest of her life giving Dani kisses like this one every single day for as long as Dani would allow her to._


	2. Day one

Jamie huffed as she tossed her heavy loaded suitcase into the trunk of their car. She looked through the back window and saw Dani sitting in the passenger seat, arms crossed. Driving from Plymouth to Leeds was going to be roughly five hours, and Dani and Jamie hadn't spent more than a half hour in the same room together in the last few months. Jamie really didn't want to think of the unpleasant things that could be coming her way, but she knew to take every precaution and prepare herself for the worst.

Jamie took a deep breath before opening the car door. She sat down behind the wheel and looked over at Dani. “Alright?”

“Yep,” Dani made a popping noise with her lips.

Jamie nodded and gripped the steering wheel, she twisted her hands nervously against the cool leather, she then let out a slow exhale as she started up the car.

As expected, an hour into the car ride and things remained peaceful and awkward, both women refusing to be the one to interrupt that false tranquility that rested in the air. Eventually, Dani cleared her throat and sat up straight. “Can we stop for a bathroom break?”

Jamie’s jaw clenched as she tried to bite back the frustration before she responded. “We just left like an hour ago, are you positive you can’t wait at least another hour?” She adjusted herself in her seat to help loosen her stiff shoulders.

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to go, Jamie.”

“Right, but there have been times in the past where you’ve asked to use the loo and then changed your mind right after walking inside.” Jamie carefully eyed Dani through her peripherals.

“That happened like two times, and that was because the bathrooms weren’t in the best conditions.” Dani retorted.

“Okay,” Jamie sighed. She pulled into the next station she passed by and parked the car. Her fingers drummed against the wheel as she watched Dani walk through the doors.

Her attention drifted to her phone as her ringtone blared from the inside of her pocket. She reached down and pulled her phone out, answering before she even had a chance to look at the caller ID.

“Hello,” her tone shot through much cooler than intended.

“Well hello to you too, you sound like you’re in a bloody good mood. Did Dani ask to use the bathroom already?”

Jamie rolled her eyes and threw her head back against the headrest. “Hi mam.” She put the phone on speaker and pulled out a smoke from the glovebox.

“Oh boy, you’re smoking, you must really be in a mood then. What’s wrong?”

“Nothin, I'm just tired and hate driving, y’know the usual. Now what’s up, what couldn’t wait until our arrival?”

“Well, I forgot to grab potatoes while I was shopping earlier. Was hoping you’d do your mummy dearest a favour and grab them on your way?”

“Yeah, I reckon that won’t be a problem.” Jamie saw Dani through the glass window of the station, walking towards the door. “Anythin else?”

“Nope, that’ll do. You alright?”

“Yeah, but I gotta go. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Alright, Richard and I are looking forward to it. Be safe, love.”

“Alright mam, see you soon.” Jamie quickly hung up the phone and shoved it back into her pocket as Dani opened the car door.

“Who was that?” She raised an accusing eyebrow.

“Was only mam, she needs us to pick up potatoes. I’m just gonna stop at the Morrisons in Exeter and run in real quick.” Jamie started the car back up and quickly drove off.

As she pulled into the cramped parking lot, a moment of joy hit her and she silently celebrated when she found a space close to the entrance of the store. As she unbuckled herself, she saw Dani do the same. “What’re you doin’?”

“I’m going to come in,” Dani replied. She opened the car door and Jamie followed closely behind her.

“I could have gone in myself, y’know?”

“I know, but I wanted snacks.” Dani shrugged.

Jamie bit her bottom lip to contain the smile she could feel creeping, not being surprised in the slightest by her remark. Dani had this odd obsession with needing snacks during car rides. Even if they’d only be driving an hour, she always had to bring something to munch on and if Jamie was being honest, it was one of the many adorable quirks that she immediately fell in love with.

“Right, should have guessed that.” She nodded, hoping Dani didn’t catch the slight grin that refused to stay hidden.

As they entered the large store, Dani grabbed a basket and looked over at Jamie. “I’ll meet you at the front of the store in five, do you want anything?”

Jamie stood stunned at the friendly offer, not being able to remember the last time Dani had asked if she wanted or needed anything. “Nah, I’m all good. Thanks.”

Dani nodded in response and then quickly departed, power walking directly to the snack aisle.

Jamie found the potatoes in seconds and grabbed a couple of bags, not knowing if her sister would also be joining them for dinner. She went to walk away but was stopped by a familiar voice coming from behind her.

“No fuckin’ way.” Jamie turned and shook her head in disbelief when she saw Theo standing in front of her.

“Bloody hell, what’re you doin’ here?” Jamie grinned, holding her arms open. The two of them hugged for a brief moment before pulling back.

“Did you forget I moved to Exeter a year ago?” Theo smirked.

“Right, completely slipped my mind.”

“What are you doing here?” Theo looked down at Jamie’s basket. “Is there a chip shortage in Plymouth?”

“No,” Jamie chuckled. “Dani and I are on our way to visit my mam, she asked me to grab these before we came.”

“Ah, right, for the wedding?” Theo asked.

Jamie raised an eyebrow. “Don’t fuckin’ tell me…”

“Yeah, she invited mum a while back and told her she expects the entire family to be there, Owen must have forgot to tell you?” Theo chuckled.

“Of course, should have guessed that.” Jamie shook her head in disbelief.

“So,” Theo cleared her throat. “How is Dani?”

Jamie forced a laugh out. “I haven’t known the answer to that question in months if I’m being honest.” Jamie sighed.

“Wait, still no change?” Theo frowned and grabbed Jamie’s bicep, she then ran her hand up and down her arm in an attempt to comfort her.

“Well, I’m sure you remember that things between Dani and I haven’t been that great since-” Jamie paused.

“Right,” Theo quickly cut in, understanding that Jamie did not like talking about the event that led to the complications in hers and Dani’s marriage.

“Anyways, things have only gotten worse each month, and I’ve tried to fix it Theo, I really have. But she’s just gotten more cold and distant with each passing day. It finally got to the point that she…” Jamie trailed off as she felt a lump forming in her throat, tears hanging at the edge of her eyelids. “Last week she told me she wants a divorce,” she whispered.

“Christ, she really isn’t interested in trying to work things out anymore?” Theo shook her head in disbelief, her hand still resting on Jamie’s arm. “Did you ever end up speaking with her about coming to talk to me?” She asked. “I mean, she knows that you were seeing me?”

“Aye, but she basically shut me down right away and then disappeared for a few hours.” Jamie sighed.

“I don’t get it, I really think she could get some form of closure if she would just talk to me and confront-” Theo immediately cut herself off when she saw Dani walking towards them.

“Hey Dani,” Theo smiled as she quickly retracted her hand from Jamie’s arm.

“Theo,” Dani nodded in acknowledgement. “What are you doing here?” Dani looked over at Jamie who had her eyes focused on the ground, then back at Theo again.

“Just grocery shopping,” she chuckled nervously. “I hear you and Jamie are on your way to visit Olivia before the big day?”

“Mmhm, how’d you know?” Dani replied, looking at Jamie once again.

“Ah, the entire family was invited, so I’ll actually be seeing you there.”

“I see, and I’m sure you’ve also heard by now that Jamie and I are getting a divorce? Unfortunately, we haven’t told her mom yet, so you’ll have to keep your distance at the wedding. After though, you two won’t have to sneak around anymore to talk.” The last word hung off Dani’s tongue as she slowly eyed Theo up and down.

“Dani-” Theo replied cautiously but was cut off before she could continue.

“Don’t worry, I get it. I’m glad she has you to lean on.” Dani smiled wickedly and Jamie’s stomach dropped as a completely different person from the woman she married stood in front of her.

“Enough,” Jamie cut Dani off before she could say anything else. “Theo, we have to go as we still have a four hour drive ahead. We’ll see you at the wedding.” Jamie nodded at Theo and quickly walked away from both of them and headed to the register.

“So what, did you plan this?” Dani quickly caught up to Jamie.

“Course not, are you a bloody conspiracy nut now?” Jamie rolled her eyes. “Or did you forget she moved here a year ago?”

“Right, I just find it odd is all. First you spend months trying to get me to talk to her, to confront things, and now she just happens to be at the same store as us a week after I ask for a divorce?”

“Jesus Christ, Dani. Can we not do this now? We still have a four hour drive and quite honestly, I’m exhausted.”

Dani stood silently as she watched Jamie unload her basket. “Fine,” she muttered.

The car ride went back to an awkward silence as the sun slowly went down. Dani by habit, kept an eye on Jamie as she could tell how tired she was before they even left. She noticed her eyes were getting heavy and her head kept swaying downward, only to shoot back up shortly after.

“Remember that game I invented to help you stay awake the first time we did this trip?” Dani looked over at Jamie curiously.

“Aye,” Jamie side eyed her, surprised that she wanted to strike up a conversation after the grocery store incident.

“Remember the name?” Dani asked.

“Wake the fuck up,” Jamie couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculously literal the name was. She was surprised to hear Dani laugh along with her though, wondering what could have possibly changed Dani’s mood in a matter of minutes.

Jamie sighed as she thought back to their first visit to meet her mom, and how nervous Dani was.

_March 13th 2013_

_“You alright?” Jamie glanced over at her girlfriend who was chewing on her fingernails._

_“Yeah, I’m great.” Dani smiled nervously._

_“Well I know that’s a bloody lie.” Jamie rolled her eyes as she watched the road in front of her._

_“What do you mean?” Dani raised an eyebrow._

_“You only bite your nails when you’re nervous, which is ridiculous because you have nothing to be nervous about.” Jamie smirked. “My mam is so excited to meet you.”_

_“What if she doesn’t end up liking me?” Dani frowned._

_“Not like she has anyone else to compare ya to,” Jamie shrugged. She suddenly winced when she felt Dani’s hand collide with the back of her head. “Ow, what was that for?”_

_“Was that supposed to be helpful?” Dani rolled her eyes. “Now I feel like I have to make an even bigger impression because it’s not like this is something you do that often.”_

_“Well technically not at all.” Jamie looked over at Dani who looked extremely unimpressed. “If we’re getting technical that is,” she mumbled._

_“Jamie…” Dani warned._

_“Look, Poppins, what do you expect me to say? She’s going to absolutely love you, I mean how could she not? You’re the sweetest person I’ve ever met, incredibly funny and charming. Plus, you have an ass that could kill.” Jamie ducked her head when she saw Dani’s arm raise again. “I’m kidding,” she quickly surrendered._

_“You’re ridiculous,” Dani chuckled. “But seriously Jamie, what if she doesn’t like me?” Dani looked towards her girlfriend, a frown had now replaced the beautiful smile that Jamie more than adored._

_“It’s not possible, I promise.” Jamie reached her hand over and interlaced her fingers into Dani’s._

_“What makes you so sure?”_

_“Well for starters, this is the first time I’ve ever brought someone home, so my mom knows what you mean to me.” Jamie squeezed Dani’s hand before bringing it up to her mouth and gently pressing her lips against her fingers. “Also, you really are amazing. You’re so easy to talk to and get along with, you’re incredibly witty and funny. You’re the perfect girl, what any mother looks for when their kid brings home a girlfriend. The Poppins of girlfriends, if you will.”_

_“Thank you,” Dani whispered. She then leaned over and pressed her lips against Jamie’s jaw, letting them linger before she pulled away. “I guess I’m just worried because of what happened with my mom,” Dani sighed._

_“Dani, you have to remember that your mom, while she did not like me at first, is slowly starting to come around. Also, if memory serves me correctly, Judy absolutely adored me.” Jamie smiled softly, knowing that Dani considered Judy more of a mother than the woman who actually gave birth to her._

_“Yeah, she really does love you. She actually called me the other day and said she plans on making a trip up here this summer to visit Eddie and I. She wants to meet Eddie’s new boyfriend.”_

_“Eddie’s got a new boyfriend?” Jamie tilted her head. “Since when, and what happened to Jonathan?”_

_“They were only just seeing each other. This new one, Steven, he’s an author and Eddie is really into him.”_

_“Damn, I really liked Jonathan though.” Jamie groaned._

_“You only liked him because he was able to get us free concert tickets.” Dani rolled her eyes playfully._

_“True, but you can’t find someone much cooler than that. I mean what’s this Steven bloke going to do, give me a free fuckin’ copy of his book? What’s he even writing about anyways?”_

_“Apparently he and his family grew up in a haunted house, so he wrote about some of the stuff that happened to them. It’s done really well,” Dani beamed._

_“Right, well I guess that doesn’t sound too terrible.” Jamie smirked._

_Dani realised the car was now pulling into the driveway and she immediately recognized Jamie’s childhood home from some pictures she had seen._

_“And here we are,” Jamie turned the car off and looked over at Dani. “You feeling better now?” She smiled._

_Dani bit her bottom lip and nodded. “I am, and I’m ready to do this.”_

_“Great, because she’s already at the door waiting for us.” Jamie smirked when she saw Dani’s eyes widen in fear. “Here we go.”_

_“It’s about bloody time you arrived,” the woman shouted. Jamie rolled her eyes at the typical response she always received from her mother whenever she came to visit. Dani immediately tensed upon hearing the intense thick British accent that reminded her so much of Jamie. “I’ve been way too excited to finally meet this beautiful American that you don’t shut up about. I assume this is her?” Dani blushed as the short brunette quickly approached her._

_“Aye, Dani this is my mam, Olivia.” Jamie bit her bottom lip nervously as she watched her mother look Dani up and down, no expression showing._

_“She really is as beautiful as you say, wow!” Olivia beamed. “So nice to finally meet you love, my daughter never shuts up about you. She’s madly in love with you, in case she hasn’t told you yet.”_

_“Mam!” Jamie shouted and Dani giggled as she allowed herself to be pulled into a tight embrace. “You’re so lucky she already knows that.”_

_“Oh please, you can’t blame your mother for wanting to move things quickly along, I was promised bloody grandchildren and neither you or your sister has made good on that promise yet.” Olivia then pulled back and winked at Dani. She then wrapped an arm around Dani’s shoulders and started to lead her inside. “Has Jamie ever told you about the time she tried to explain to me how she thought children were made?” Olivia glanced back at Jamie and laughed when she saw her eyes widen in fear._

_“Oh no, she most definitely has not.” Dani chuckled._

_“Oh good, let’s make you some tea and we can have a nice chat about it, it’s quite the embarrassing story and knowing my daughter, she probably gives you a lot of hell so you’ll need something on her that will shut her up.”_

_“Mam, aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” Jamie groaned, secretly loving how comfortable Dani looked already._

_“Posh, I don’t want you to bully this one away like you did with your imaginary friends.” Olivia then leaned into Dani’s ear. “That’s another thing, Jamie used to bully her imaginary friends as a kid, and then cry to me when they wouldn’t talk to her anymore.” She whispered loud enough for her daughter to hear. Dani threw her head back and laughed as she continued to follow Olivia through the door._

_“Mam, for fuck sakes!” Jamie yelled. She then smirked as she watched both women walk inside, already deep in conversation. She shook her head as he realisation hit, she had never felt more excited about anything in her entire life. She was so happy that Dani Clayton was the first woman she had ever brought home, and as far as she was concerned, Jamie wanted her to be the last._

The rest of the trip was silent, just as Jamie had expected. She slowly exhaled as she pulled into the familiar driveway, closing her eyes once the car was completely off.

“Are you ready?” Dani snapped Jamie from whatever thoughts were running through her mind, her hand rested against the car door handle, waiting for Jamie’s confirmation.

“I spose I have to be, yeah?” Jamie opened her right eye and looked at Dani, who was frowning.

“If you need time, we can drive down the road and park for a bit?”

Jamie opened both eyes, surprised that Dani was actually trying to be helpful. A part of her wanted to say yes, she knew that having Dani pretending to love her was going to be hard and bring back a lot of feelings she had managed to keep hidden deep down inside. But she also knew her mom, and just as she expected, she looked at the house and could see the short brunette standing on the porch waving at them. “Did you really think she wouldn’t be out here ready to greet us?” Jamie nodded towards the house, noticing that Dani had yet to remove her eyes from her.

“Right,” Dani’s eyes finally drifted to the door. She smiled as she saw Olivia beaming at them, waiting patiently for them to come greet her.

“Well, we better get a move on before she starts askin questions.” Jamie groaned as she opened the car door.

“Bloody hell, it’s about time you two arrived. Richard and I are clammin’ here. We’ve been ready to eat for hours.” Olivia shouted as she watched her daughter exit the car.

“Well then, it would’ve made more sense for you to grab the potatoes, yeah?” Jamie rolled her eyes.

“I couldn’t be asked to go back out again, I’ve spent the last six days running around to get stuff ready for the wedding.” She smirked. “Ah, there she is, my beautiful daughter.” Oliva held her arms wide open as Dani approached the porch.

“Hey mom,” Dani accepted the hug and could already feel herself getting emotional, knowing that this would be the last visit she’d likely get with the woman.

“Get your arse in here too,” Oliva waved her daughter over.

“Think I’m good,” Jamie muttered.

“Something wrong?” Oliva pulled back right away from Dani and looked between the two of them, as if she could already sense the tension.

Dani quickly shook her head and chuckled. “No, you know your daughter. Always grumpy after the long drive,” Dani subtly shot Jamie a glare.

“Yeah sorry,” Jamie cleared her throat. She then approached both women and joined in the hug, nearly choking as she felt herself being pressed tightly into Dani.

“There we go, that’s better.” Olivia pulled back and kissed both tops of their heads.

“Now let’s go inside, your sister and Gary should be here any minute so I want to get supper finished up.” Jamie and Dani followed the older woman into the house, they both stood awkwardly with their shoes off, unsure of what to do next. “Well, go put your bags away and wash up, or do whatever it is you lesbians do.”

“Mam,” Jamie groaned, which caused Dani to laugh. Jamie could feel a tight pinching inside of her chest as she realised just how much she missed the sound of Dani’s laughter, she especially missed being the cause of it.

Both of them headed up the stairs and walked into Jamie’s old room. Dani smiled as she looked around the familiar walls, posters of Blondie and The Cranberries plastered near her bed. A small book shelf with quite a few books, and her desk right beside it.

“Shit,” Jamie hissed when she saw the double bed perched against the wall.. “I guess I can sleep on the floor, I’ll just have to steal a few blankets and-” Jamie stopped talking when she saw Dani quickly shake her head.

“Don’t be silly, we spent the last year sharing a bed together, ten days isn’t going to kill us….unless it’s something you can’t deal with?”

“No, it’s fine.” Jamie quickly replied. Of course she was fine with sharing a bed with Dani, but knowing Dani didn’t feel the same way is what made her hesitate more than anything. “Just wasn’t sure about you is all,” she shrugged.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.” Dani nodded. Jamie could see Dani's lip quiver just before she turned away from her, but what she didn’t see was the grin on Dani’s face that followed directly after.

A few minutes later, both Dani and Jamie headed back downstairs and were quickly stopped as soon as they reached the bottom step.

“Ah ah, you can’t pass yet.” Olivia quickly stood in front of both women with her arms yet.

Jamie groaned, feeling much too tired for her mother’s shenanigans. “And why’s that?”

Olivia smirked and looked above both women. Dani and Jamie both shared a look of confusion before looking up, both tensing as they saw mistletoe dangling above them.

“What’s this then?” Jamie looked back down and raised an eyebrow.

“It’s mistletoe dear, I find it hard to believe you’ve never seen mistletoe before? I’ve hung it up every year even before you kids were born.” Olivia crossed her arms. “Now you can pass, but only once you’ve kissed your beautiful wife.”

Jamie’s eyes slightly widened as she looked back and forth between Dani and her mom. She realised how unnatural she was probably acting so she quickly spoke up. “Yeah I know that,” Jamie groaned. “But it’s the bloody middle of November, since when do you start decorating for Christmas this early?” It wasn’t that Jamie didn’t want to kiss Dani, the two of them just hadn’t shared a kiss in over six months and if Jamie was being honest, she felt nervous even just thinking about the possibility of getting to kiss her again.

“I figured I’d do things differently this year,” Oliva shrugged.

“Then where are the rest of your Christmas decorations?” Jamie smirked as she looked around, having far too much fun challenging her mother.

“What does it matter?” Olivia’s slightly squinted her eyes and she looked between Dani and Jamie, as if she was searching for some sort of answer. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you didn’t want to kiss your wife and-” Olivia stopped talking once she saw Dani grab Jamie by her collar and pull her into a deep kiss.

Jamie’s heart started beating out her chest as she was reconnected with the familiar taste of Dani’s lips for the first time in what felt like forever. Her eyes quickly shut as she let herself be pulled into the moment. By instinct, she rested her hand on Dani’s lower back and pushed Dani in closer to her, deepening the kiss with more passion than either of them expected. A tiny whimper escaped Dani’s lips and Jamie was sure right then and there, she was dreaming. She was positive she had fallen asleep at the wheel, and she’d wake up any minute with both her and Dani in a ditch.

After what seemed like forever, Dani finally pulled away and Jamie was hit with the reality of the situation. The kiss wasn’t real, Dani was only pretending just as they discussed. However, as she opened her eyes, she swore she saw Dani bite her bottom lip ever so slightly. The exact same way right before she would have Jamie pressed up against a wall, Dani’s fingers tracing down her body, letting Jamie know she was ready to explore every desire they felt.

“Well that was a kiss!” Olivia clapped her hands loudly, making both Dani and Jamie jump as they snapped back to reality. “Now go be the amazing daughters you are and peel the potatoes for me, I just need to run into the garage to grab some liquor.” Olivia smiled and then quickly walked away, before Jamie could protest.

As she entered the garage, she pulled out her phone and beamed as she dialed a number.

“Hello?” A familiar voice answered.

“Hey it’s me. Just thought I should let you know that operation "Get Jamie and Dani back together" is a go," she smirked. "They have no idea what's in store for them."

"Brilliant, keep me posted."

"I will don't worry. I should go though, I'll call you tomorrow." Olivia replied.

Olivia hung up and smiled proudly at herself as she shoved her phone back into her pocket. She walked inside and gently shut the door behind her. She looked into the kitchen and watched as Dani and Jamie stood stiff and awkwardly beside one another, peeling the potatoes. Olivia sighed in content, knowing very well what she was doing to both women, and not caring one bit.

One thing was for sure, she wasn't going to let her daughter lose the best thing to ever happen to her. Not now, and not ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Give me some feedback, let me know your thoughts and theories! Or feel free to ask any questions!
> 
> Cheers


	3. Day two

Jamie felt warmth and comfort as she awoke the next day, the sun brightly shined through the window and awoke her from the deep sleep she had found herself in. For the first time in a week, she had managed to wake up feeling refreshed, happy even.

Jamie slowly turned onto her other side and smiled as she saw Dani was still lying beside her, she looked peaceful. She hesitated as she brought her hand up to Dani’s face, she delicately brushed the back of her hand against Dani’s cheek, pushing a loose strand of blonde hair from her face. She knew her wife was a heavy sleeper, so she allowed her hand to linger a moment longer than what either of them had been used to in the last year.

With a loud sigh, Jamie sat up in bed and tiptoed herself out of the room, not wanting to wake Dani up just yet. She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen where she saw her future step father sitting, reading the newspaper. She had seen him a few months prior but could immediately tell the kind of stress the wedding must be having on him. His hair looked much greyer from the last time, and he had dark circles that sat directly under his eyes. Richard looked up, his big green eyes sparkled when he saw Jamie.

"Jamie," he greeted her excitedly. He got up and quickly approached her, his arms wide open. 

Jamie smiled as she gave him a hug. "Hey Richard, long time no see."

"Aye, how have you been?" He pulled back and looked her up and down. "You look exhausted?" He frowned.

"You’re one to talk,” Jamie smirked.

"Good point.” Richard chuckled. “Well come sit down, did you want tea?" He smiled as he pulled back a chair for her.

"Sure, that sounds great actually." Jamie took a seat beside him. "So how's work?" She watched as the man poured her a cup from the white teapot that sat in front of them.

"Oh it's busy, these new cars don't last as long as they used to, you know?" He looked back and smiled at her.

"I really have no idea, but for your sake I’ll pretend I do, yeah?" She winked as she accepted the mug from him. She looked ahead and smiled when she saw a picture hanging of her sister, Lindsay and her husband Gary on their wedding day. Beside them, Dani stood in front of Jamie, her bright yellow dress complimenting her bright beautiful blue eyes. Jamie had her arms wrapped around Dani’s waist, her chin resting on her shoulder, all four of them smiling in perfect harmony. "I remember that day like yesterday," she pointed to the photo.

"As do I," he smiled. He then sat beside Jamie and took a sip from his mug. "You and Dani had been dating sometime at that point, but I remember how nervous you were to ask her to come with you because your relationship was what, a month old when you had to ask her?" He laughed when he saw Jamie scrunch her face in embarrassment.

"Don't remind me. That was one of the most awkward conversations we've had to this day," she chuckled.

_July 3rd, 2012_

_Jamie paced nervously around her flat as she waited for Dani to arrive. She grabbed her phone and it read 3:08pm. Dani was running more than a half hour late and Jamie was starting to worry as it was not like her. Just as she was about to hit the call icon on her phone, with Danis contact information on the screen, there was a knock at the door. She took a deep breath and opened it, smiling when she saw beautiful blue eyes staring back at her._

" _Hey," Dani leaned forward and kissed Jamie's cheek. "Sorry I'm late. Work kept me later than I expected." Dani sighed._

" _No worries, Poppins. I was just about to call you, actually." Jamie smiled and moved to the side, allowing the other woman to enter._

" _How was your day?" Dani removed her shoes and grabbed Jamie's hand, leading her to the couch. Both women sat down, and Dani immediately leaned herself into Jamie's side._

_Jamie nervously hesitated and then wrapped an arm around Dani’s shoulder, her eyes remained fixated on the wall in front of them. "It was okay, just had a meeting with my staff to discuss a possible karaoke night." Jamie used her free hand to tap her leg._

" _Are you okay?" Dani watched in amusement as Jamie continued to tap her leg._

_Jamie cleared her throat. "Uh yeah, I'm fine." She gave Dani a small smile._

_Dani's smile dropped and she stared at Jamie intently. "No you're not, don’t lie to me. What's wrong?" Dani shifted her body so that she was facing the other woman._

_Jamie shook her head. "Nothing," she smiled nervously._

" _Jamie…" Dani's heart gradually sped up as she saw how nervous the other woman looked. "Talk to me," her voice was now stern and more demanding._

_Jamie bit her lip as she stared at the other woman. She let out a long exaggerated sigh before finally getting the courage to speak up. "Okay fine, I need to talk to you…" She started._

_Dani quickly stood up from the couch nearly knocking Jamie over. "Oh no, you're breaking up with me, aren't you?"_

_Jamie's jaw dropped as she quickly followed Dani’s actions and stood up. "Dani…" She started but was cut off once again._

" _We've only been dating a month, I've done everything to make sure we move slowly. I don't get it, what did I do?" Dani could feel the frustration build up._

" _Dani can you let me talk?" Jamie was waving her hands in front of her to get the woman's attention._

" _No, I need a minute." Dani huffed. She started to walk towards the door but was stopped by Jamie, who grabbed a hold of her arm._

" _Jesus Christ. I wanted to ask you if you would be my date to my sister's wedding, not break up with you!" Jamie's eyes were wide as she silently pleaded with the other woman to stay._

" _Oh…"_

" _Yeah," Jamie rubbed the back of her neck, she had not expected the conversation to go downhill that quickly._

" _Well, why were you being so awkward about it? You had me so worried," Dani frowned._

" _Because…" Jamie started. "It's not until April, which is nine months from now…"_

" _And?" Dani raised an eyebrow._

" _And…" Jamie took a deep breath and quickly spoke as she exhaled. “Nine months is a long time from now. I’ve never committed to anything with anyone before, so I was nervous that maybe this was moving too fast?" she finished with a long breath._

_Dani stared blankly at her. A grin slowly appeared on her face, "you're so adorable." She grabbed Jamie and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her in closely._

" _Why?" Jamie muffled against her neck._

" _Because you got so scared to ask me a question with such an obvious answer," Dani rubbed circles in Jamie’s back. She pulled away and stared at Jamie, “of course I would want to go with you. I told you I was in love with you, why would that be moving too fast, you goof?" Dani smirked._

_Jamie shrugged. "I don't know, I’ve just never felt this way with anyone before.” Jamie closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. “I'm always worried about screwing this up," she gestured between the two of them._

_Dani grabbed Jamie by her cheeks and slowly leaned into her, resting their foreheads together. "Jamie, there's nothing you could do in a million years to push me away, or to screw this up." She whispered._

_Jamie swallowed her saliva and blushed at the other woman's words. "Really?"_

_"Really?" Dani smiled and nodded. She then lightly brushed her lips against Jamie’s, humming in approval as she felt Jamie’s hands tighten around her waist. Dani sighed before she deepened the kiss, digging her fingertips into Jamie's waist, tugging her in closer. "Except cheating," Dani mumbled against her lips_

_Jamie choked out laughter and shook her head. "You'll never have to worry about me cheating. I already have the perfect woman, there's nothing more I need." She pulled back and smiled._

" _Good," Dani whispered right before kissing Jamie once again, leading her over to the couch as she did so. "Then you'll never have to worry about losing me."_

"Jamie?" Richard snapped her from her thoughts as he waved a hand in front of her face. "Earth to Jamie," he laughed when he saw he had finally caught her attention.

"Sorry," Jamie mumbled.

"I thought I lost you," He smiled and shook his head "Are you okay? You seemed really lost in thought just now?" His smile gradually faded into a frown.

Jamie nodded. "I'm good, just have something on my mind." 

Truth was Jamie wasn't fine, whatsoever. She had no one to talk to about what she was going through except for Owen, who was all the way back in Plymouth. Jamie didn’t want to admit it, but she could have really used her best friend at the current moment, or someone she could let her walls down with, and let out all the tears she had been holding back. In reality, the one person she wanted to do those things with was Dani, which she knew wasn’t going to be an option ever again. So she did what she was used to, she swallowed the large and uncomfortable lump sitting in the middle of her throat, and smiled.

"Okay, you know I'm here if you ever need to talk." Richard smiled softly.

"I know," Jamie sighed. "Thanks Rich," she smiled. Richard nodded and grabbed his newspaper once again, reading over it.

Jamie cocked her head towards the hallway when she heard the floor creek, followed by footsteps coming down the stairs. Seconds later, Dani waltzed her way into the kitchen, yawning.

"Well sleep helped more than I thought it would," Dani sighed.

"Well hello Dani," Richard placed his paper down once again and stood up. He walked over to her with his arms opened, Dani smiled as she accepted his hug.

"How are you doing, Richard?"

Richard pulled back and sighed. "You know how it is, you two planned a wedding once upon a time ago. I’m exhausted, it seems the bride can’t make up her mind regarding anything.”

"Well it should hopefully get easier now that we’re all here," Dani chuckled.

“Sounds like mam for ya,” Jamie rolled her eyes. Dani had finally looked in her direction and to Jamie’s surprise, she saw a warm and welcoming smile.

Dani then continued her small talk with Richard, and Jamie watched in amazement at how natural she was acting. If Jamie didn't know what was actually going on between them, she would have believed Dani was legitimately happy.

"Tea?" Richard eventually asked.

Dani nodded. "Sounds perfect, but sit down, I'll go grab a mug." Dani walked further into the kitchen and grabbed the first mug she saw in the kitchen cupboard. She then walked back and took a seat across from Jamie, her eyes avoided looking in her direction.

"So how are you girl's doing? We haven't heard much from you lately." Richard looked back and forth between them both.

"Good," they both quickly replied at the same time.

"That's good, anything new I'm missing out on?" He smiled.

"Nope, nothing I can think of." Dani shrugged.

Richard raised an eyebrow at them both. "Something is off with two two," he eyed them both suspiciously.

"Why would you say that?" Dani tensed her entire body.

"It just is, I can tell." He continued to stare them both down.

Jamie scoffed. "Quit being an arse, Rich."

"I'm not, I’m bloody serious. Something is going on because as long as I have seen you two together, I’ve never seen Jamie let you make your own tea, always saying how you’d just desecrate it if you tried.” Richard raised an eyebrow.

“Just didn’t get a lot of sleep, I guess I didn’t really clue into what was going on around me.” Jamie bit her bottom lip.

“Okay, then why are you two sitting like that?” Richard nodded between both women. “I’ve never seen you both sit with so much distance between you. Jamie always has to have you nearly sitting on her lap any other time, so…” Richard trailed off as he took another sip of his tea. “What gives?”

Jamie kept her eyes focused on her teacup, refusing to make eye contact with him, knowing how spot on he was. 

Luckily, Dani decided to break the silence. She cleared her throat and shook her head. "Nothing, I just woke up and I feel a bit out of it is all, didn’t even realise where I took a seat." She smiled. She then reached her hand across the table and grabbed Jamie's free one. Jamie looked up and saw Dani smiling at her, she could feel her heart beating inside of her chest as Dani softly brushed her thumb against the back of her hand. Dani then looked over at Richard once again. "Everything is fine," she reassured him.

Both of them felt a warmth inside the pit of their stomach’s as the contact between them continued. They hadn't given any means of affection in a long while, almost having forgotten how nice it felt. Dani looked back at Jamie, and for the first time in four months, she gave her wife a genuine smile.

Jamie's eyes lit up as a small smile formed on her face. She temporarily lost herself in Dani's eyes, eventually she shook her head and cleared her throat, looking back at Richard. "So where's mam?" She asked.

"Did I hear that correctly, did I hear my name? Is my beautiful daughter actually wondering where I am?" Olivia chimed in as she walked up the basement stairs.

"No, I don't recall saying your name." Jamie rolled her eyes.

Dani giggled and shook her head. "She's lying, she totally asked for you." Dani looked over at Jamie who had her face scrunched.

"She does love me!" Olivia approached her daughter and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. She looked down at the table and noted that both girls were holding hands.

"Mam," Jamie whined. She looked over at Dani and smirked when she saw her laughing.

Jamie couldn't believe how just one small form of human contact between the two of them helped ease some of the tension between them.

"Stop being such a baby. You're thirty-six now; your dear mother is getting old. You should be taking advantage of my kisses while you still can," she huffed.

"Please woman, you'll outlive us all and then some." Richard chimed in making everyone laugh. Olivia cocked an eyebrow at Richard.

"Careful oh wonderful husband of mine, you may be proven correct later tonight if you keep it up." She smirked.

Richard laughed and shook his head. "I look forward to it," he winked.

"Gross," Jamie muttered. Dani laughed and squeezed Jamie's hand reassuringly, making them both look at each other, eyes wide. Dani, without thinking twice, released Jamie's hand and pulled back. Jamie had to keep herself from protesting, almost forgetting the reality of the situation. She sighed and looked back at Olivia.

"So where is Lindsay?" Jamie watched as her mother pulled plates down from the cupboard.

"She should be here any time," Olivia smiled. "Be a dear, would you and Dani mind setting the table in the dining room? I need to get started on breakfast."

Both women nodded and got up from the table, walking over to Olivia. They grabbed the plates and headed towards the dining room. Once they were out of earshot, Olivia snapped her fingers at her husband.

"Well?" She whispered.

"I got them to hold hands?" He replied, hoping it was enough.

"Oh big deal, holding hands is nothing! We need more," she whined in a hushed tone.

"Patience," Richard got up from his seat. He walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry so much. I have a feeling everything will work itself out by the time this is all over."

"How are you so sure?" She muffled into his chest.

Richard gestured his head towards the dining room, indicating for his wife to watch them closely.

Jamie placed the forks down as Dani was across from her placing the knives beside them. She looked up at Dani and had caught her staring, both of their eyes fixed on each other as they finished placing the utensils down. Jamie couldn't stop a smile creeping up the corner of her lips as she watched Dani set her last knife down. She then looked up and smiled back at Jamie, letting herself get lost even if it was just for a moment, wanting to relive how it felt back when they were still happy.

"See that? You can tell they still love each other, just by how they look at one another. They just don't realize it yet - they will eventually though." He smiled.

Oliva, Richard, Dani and Jamie all sat around the table as they waited patiently for Lindsay to show up. Everyone looked over at Jamie when they heard a loud grumble come from her stomach.

"Someone is a tad hungry," Olivia smiled.

"Just a bit," Jamie muttered as she held onto her stomach, attempting to keep it from making any other loud outbursts.

"Well why didn't you make yourself a snack?" Olivia asked.

"Because I wanted to save room for the good stuff," Jamie shrugged.

"Because no one's cooking will ever be as yummy as your mamma’s?" She smirked.

"Mam," Jamie whined. "You're the worst." She shook her head.

Dani laughed as she watched both women. She always felt entertained at Jamie's mom's house, because of how much Olivia would bug Jamie.

"Can you stop looking at me like that? I hate when you do that," Jamie groaned when she saw the smirk remain on her Olivia’s face.

Dani scoffed. "Are you actually giving your mother hell for smirking? Where do you think you get your signature smirk from?" Dani laughed when she saw Jamie's jaw drop.

"Are you actually taking her side?" Jamie gasped.

Dani nodded. "I am indeed," she giggled.

Jamie felt the same signature smirk creep up her face as she stared at the other woman. All four of them suddenly looked at the front door when they heard knocking. Olivia got up from her seat and quickly approached the door, followed by Jamie and Dani.

"Hi Sweetie," Olivia smiled when she saw her daughter’s green eyes staring back at her.

"Hey mom," Lindsay immediately pulled Olivia into a hug. She then pulled back and smiled at Jamie and Dani.

"Well come here then, you haven’t seen your sister in months, I expect a bloody big hug.” Lindsay looked over at Jamie and smiled.

"Hey Lins," Jamie grinned as she approached her sister. "I missed ya," she hugged her.

"I missed ya too.” Lindsay whispered into Jamie’s ear. “And you as well, Dani get your cute little arse over here," Lindsay waved Dani towards her.

"Hi Lindsay," she laughed as she approached the tall brunette.

"How are you both doing?" Lindsay pulled back and looked back and forth between them.

Jamie and Dani looked at each other and then back at Lindsay. "We're fine, just been working a lot." Jamie lied.

"I see, and I hope you're still finding time for each other then?" Lindsay eyed them both suspiciously.

"What?" Jamie nearly choked on her sister's words.

"Well if you're working a lot, I hope you two still make time for each other." Lindsay repeated.

"Oh yeah, we make loads of time. No issues there," Jamie chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck.

"That's good. It's important to make as much time for each other as possible. Gary is always working, but when he gets home he one hundred percent dedicates his time to me," Lindsay smiled.

“Right, same with us.” Jamie nodded. She then looked over at Dani, who was frowning. Jamie cleared her throat and approached her, wrapping an arm around her waist. She leaned into her and gently pressed her lips against her temple.

Olivia and Richard immediately looked at one another and smiled. They watched as Dani’s eyes naturally shut as she allowed herself to be pulled into Jamie, no pushback whatsoever, which hopefully meant they were getting somewhere after-all.

“Sorry, had to get the rest of the bags,” a new voice cut in. A tall man, with short dirty blonde hair and glasses stood at the entrance with a couple of duffle bags in his arms.

“Here mate, I can give you a hand.” Jamie removed her arm from Dani’s waist and grabbed one of the duffle bags.

“Appreciate that, your sister decided to just leave me to do all the heavy lifting.” He looked over at Lindsay and smirked.

“Yeah, doesn’t surprise me, she’s always been quite the princess that one.” Jamie dropped the duffle bag in front of Lindsay’s feet.

“Hi Gary dear,” Olivia smiled fondly as she approached him with open arms. 

“Hi mum,” Gary dropped the duffle bag to the floor and pulled Olivia into a hug.

Olivia pulled back and cleared her throat, “so, aside from Jamie, who else is incredibly famished?”

“Thank fuck,” Jamie groaned. She quickly made her way back to the dining table, as Dani watched in amusement, a soft smile on her face.

After brunch, everyone gathered around the living room for family game time, something Jamie had come to secretly love since Dani came into her life, which Jamie would never admit. However, she would be lying if she didn’t think Dani was her most charming self while they played games, when her competitive side would come out and really start to show. There was something about the way Dani was so calm and timid most days of the year, but she always somehow managed to let her competitive side slip during these rare occasions, keeping everyone purely entertained by the infrequent event.

"Do we really have to play this?" Jamie groaned. She took her seat on the couch at the other end, away from Dani.

"Yes, now quit your complaining." Olivia rolled her eyes. She grabbed a stack of cards and held them in her hands as she took a seat by the coffee table. "Go sit beside your wife, why are you so far away from her?" She raised an eyebrow at her daughter.

Jamie scoffed before shifting over to the middle of the couch, beside Dani. "I don't know. I just sat wherever." She mumbled. "I hate charades, why are you making me play a game I bloody hate?"

"Because everyone in this room is out to get you, in fact before you came here we all had a discussion about how we would do everything you hate." Olivia rolled her eyes. “Not everything is about you, dear, believe it or not.”

"You're a terrible mother, you know that?" Jamie crossed her arms.

Dani rolled her eyes and nudged Jamie. "Come on, it'll be fun. Stop whining," she giggled.

Jamie raised an eyebrow at her wife. "We'll see if you'll still be saying that when we're losing, and you're throwing a fit."

Dani scoffed, "I do not throw fits when we lose!" She replied defensively.

Everyone in the room looked around at one another and laughed. "I'm sorry sweetie, I have to agree with my daughter - which you know I hate to do. You're terribly competitive; you always throw a fit when you lose." Olivia laughed.

"Rude," Dani huffed as she crossed her arms.

"Okay, let's get this game going." Richard clapped his hands.

"Lindsay and Gary are up first, which of you will act it out?" Olivia smiled.

“I suppose that’ll be me,” Lindsay got up from the floor and walked over to her mother, grabbing a card from her. She frowned as her eyes scrolled over it. "Bloody hell," she groaned.

"Is it just me, or do I have the whiniest daughters ever?" Olivia looked around in amazement.

"It's not just you," Gary muttered earning himself a slap from his wife. "Ow," he frowned and pulled back.

"Shut up," Lindsay glared at her husband.

"Okay, you have a minute to act out whatever is on your card. Take thirty seconds to think about it and tell us when you're ready." Richard cut in before anything else could be said.

Lindsay nodded as she continued to read over the card, biting her lip as she thought to herself. "Okay, I'm ready." She finally said, looking over at Richard.

"Okay, on three. One, two, three and go!" Richard pressed the timer on his stop watch.

Lindsay looked over at Gary and held four fingers up in the air.

"Four words," he yelled. Lindsay nodded and continued. "Oh, movie!" He bit his lip as she watched her carefully.

Lindsay pointed to her nose. "Pinocchio?" He scrunched his face.

She rolled her eyes. "How is that four words?"

"Hey no talking," Dani leaned forward and shouted.

Jamie looked over at her and smirked. "Not competitive, huh?" She whispered.

"Shut up," Dani slapped her arm. She looked back at Lindsay, eyes wide open. She wondered what had gotten into her, now she was playfully beating on Jamie, something she had not found herself doing in quite some time.

Lindsay strutted around the house grabbing her stomach and moving her mouth.

"Ten seconds," Richard shot out.

Lindsay pretended to grab an imaginary sack and threw it over her shoulder then pointed back to her nose.

"Rudolph the red nosed reindeer?" Gary jumped up from the couch.

Lindsay quickly nodded and clapped her hands. "Yes," she smiled.

"High five!" Gary held his hand out. They retook their seats and looked over at Jamie.

"Your turn, dears." Olivia smiled at Jamie and Dani.

"Do I have to?" Jamie groaned as she got up from the couch.

"You do. Now here's your card, go make your wife happy." She smiled.

Jamie snatched the card and looked over it, her stomach dropping as she read _Dirty Dancing_ on it. Out of all cards, she had to get the one movie that had sentimental value between them.

"Okay, I'm ready." Jamie muttered looking over at Richard.

"Okay. Three, two, one and go!" He yelled as he hit the timer once again.

Jamie held up two fingers in front of Dani. "Two words," Dani yelled, making everyone jump.

Jamie chuckled at how worked up she was already getting. "A movie!" Dani yelled again as Jamie’s hands actioned out “film.”

“Christ,” Jamie muttered, she nodded and looked around the room. She held two fingers up and rolled her eyes before she began dancing around the living room. Dani chuckled as she watched her wife slow dance with an imaginary person.

Her eyes suddenly widened, "dancing is the second word!" Dani yelled excitedly. "Oh, oh Dirty Dancing!" She screamed and jumped up.

Jamie nodded at the other woman, smirking. Dani jumped up from the couch and ran towards her. She pulled Jamie into a hug and lifted her in the air, spinning her around. "Good job," Dani huffed. She placed Jamie back down and saw everyone laughing at her.

"What?" She frowned.

"Nothing, your competitive side is showing is all." Olivia shrugged.

Dani playfully rolled her eyes before taking her seat back onto the couch. Jamie sat down beside her and watched as Richard grabbed a card from her mother. Just as she was about to lean back into the couch, she felt Dani’s arm wrap behind her, around her waist. She froze as her eyes gradually trailed over to Dani, who was focusing straight ahead.

Jamie tensed unintentionally as she felt Dani’s arm around her. It had been so long that the two of them had been affectionate, that this new contact had taken her off guard, as welcomed as it was.

This didn’t go unnoticed by Dani, who frowned as she kept her eyes focused ahead. She cleared her throat and removed her arm from around Jamie’s waist, not wanting to make her too uncomfortable. 

Both women felt their chests tighten at the loss of contact, neither brave enough to say something. Jamie blinked as she tried to focus on watching her mother and Richard playing Charades. She had a feeling that sleep was going to be non existent tonight, something she had become familiar with in the recent weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay with this update guys, I just finished my other fic so now I'll be only focusing on this and pushing the updates out more regularly!
> 
> As usual, feedback is appreciated. 
> 
> Also, please feel free to give me ideas for anything you would like to see in these flashbacks with Jamie and Dani. You can be a specific as you like, for example: First New Years together.
> 
> You can hit me up here, on Tumblr or Twitter, all under Raginage
> 
> Cheers!


	4. Day three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is rated E

When Jamie’s eyes fluttered open the next day, she was in a much different state than the previous morning. Unlike the warmth and calm feeling that had surrounded her then, she was now met with a deep chill that lingered in the air and brought an unwelcome discomfort she had not expected. Her body immediately felt a shiver, and as she attempted to pull the blanket closer to her face, she realised there was a pressure around her waist that felt oddly familiar to her.

Jamie took a moment to register her suspicions about the body pressed tightly behind her, as it was something she had not woken up to for quite some time. She slightly turned her head and confirmed what she had hoped to be true; Dani was peacefully asleep - fit perfectly against Jamie like an intricate puzzle piece.

Jamie blinked as she stared at the other woman for quite some time, smiling when she realised how long it had been since she woke up in her arms. Dani must have curled up to Jamie by instinct during the night, like they had both done on countless occasions before recent events.

She really didn't know what it meant and she didn't want the moment to end, but she also didn't want Dani to wake up and realise what she was doing and then become unhinged. So Jamie groaned as she slowly shimmied her way out from Dani’s grasp, her chest heavy with regret as she immediately felt the cold air against her skin.

Jamie tiptoed her way out of the room, completely oblivious to the blonde woman who now lied wide awake in bed, a frown replacing the contentment that was just held on her face seconds earlier. Dani reached her hand out to the now empty space beside her and grasped the sheets in her hand, she sighed, missing the warmth that her wife was always able to provide to her.

Jamie rubbed the back of her neck as she walked into the kitchen, she stopped and looked around when she saw all eyes on her.

“Morning,” she mumbled.

“Sounds like someone didn’t get a decent sleep?” Oliva frowned, she pulled out a chair for her daughter and got up from her own. “Here, mummy will fix you a nice cuppa.” She patted Jamie’s back.

“Thanks mam,” Jamie attempted a genuine smile.

Lindsay watched as Oliva walked away, humming in content, a suspicious smile on her face. She got up from her chair; grabbed her empty mug and followed in her mother’s footsteps. “Did you turn off the bloody heat last night? Gary and I were freezing,” she quietly hissed.

“Aye, I figured if it was cold enough, they would be forced to cuddle.” Oliva shrugged, she grabbed a tea bag from the cupboard and ignored as her daughter glared at her.

“So you make the rest of us suffer for something you weren’t even sure would work?” Lindsay rolled her eyes at her mother’s shenanigans.

Olivia opened her mouth to reply, but quickly shut it and smiled as she saw Dani stroll in, bundled in what appeared to be two different sweaters. “Morning, love.” Olivia raised her mug and smiled. “Fancy a tea?”

“Morning,” Dani yawned. “That’d be great, thanks.” She flashed a smile at Olivia and then looked towards the table, she saw an empty seat beside Jamie and decided to take it.

“Sleep well, dear?” Olivia asked from the kitchen as she continued to fix a tea for the two of them.

“I did, even though it was freezing last night. Did the heat break or something? I had to pretty much glue myself to Jamie in order to keep warm,” Dani said, blushing. She then looked over at Jamie, who had her eyes focused on the table, trying not to show her disappointment upon hearing Dani’s reason for cuddling up next to her.

Olivia looked over at Lindsay and winked, “told ya.” A smirk flashed on her face as she watched her daughter roll her eyes.

“Bloody hell,” Lindsay mumbled in disbelief.

“Good morning,” Dani nudged Jamie and smiled.

“Mornin,” Jamie mumbled, she glanced at Dani and could feel her mood immediately shift as she stared into the familiar bright beautiful blue eyes she fell in love with years ago.

Lindsay stood beside Olivia and quietly sipped on her tea, nearly spilling it when her arm was nudged suddenly. She looked over at her mother but before she could say anything, Olivia leaned into her ear and whispered, “don’t forget about your plans for that little shopping trip later.”

Lindsay nodded and then looked towards both women who were sitting quietly at the table. “So when you both have finished breakfast, Gary and I were talking about taking a trip to the mall. We still need to find a present for mam and Rich, figured you’d two might be interested in tagging along?”

“Oh count me in as well, I actually need to head to the mall to return something anyways.” Olivia replied.

“And how’s that going to work if we need to buy something for _you?_ ” Lindsay rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what her mother was doing.

“We’ll just split up, I won’t see anything.”

“Fine,” Lindsay mumbled. “How about you two then?” She looked over at Dani and Jamie.

“Yeah actually, that would be perfect. We need to buy something as well.” Dani turned around and smiled as Olivia walked over with both hers and Jamie’s tea. “Thank you,” she grabbed both mugs and handed one to Jamie.

“Wow, and here I was thinking my children loved me enough to at least have our wedding present picked out by now.” Olivia shook her head in disappointment as she walked back over to Lindsay.

“Seriously?” Lindsay muttered, causing Olivia smirk.

“It’s not like that, mom.” Dani shook her head, “we just have both been so busy with work, time slipped away from us.”

“I know love, and I also know my daughter likes to leave everything up until last minute, so I can’t be too surprised.”

“Now that just isn’t bloody true,” Jamie scoffed.

“Uh yeah it is,” Dani chuckled.

“Oye, stop agreeing with the woman, it does no good for either of us when you do that.” Jamie’s mouth was agape.

“Well I’m sorry, but do I need to remind you of our first Valentine’s Day together?” Dani smirked.

“Please no,” Jamie groaned.

_February 14th, 2013_

_Jamie cussed as she ran half naked across her bedroom in search of her ringing cell phone. She ruffled up her sheets as she searched on top of her bed, eventually finding it hidden under her pillow._

_“Hello?” She answered breathlessly._

_“Oh god, did I just interrupt you and Dani in the middle of your special time?” Owen’s voice came through on the other end._

_“Jesus, no you stupid git.” Jamie rolled her eyes as she made her way back towards her closet. “I’m just in search of my dark blue blouse, what do you want?” Jamie put her phone on speaker and set it on top of her bookshelf._

_“I just wanted to see how you were feeling, seeing as this is your first Valentine’s Day being in a relationship. I could give you some pointers if you needed?” Jamie could hear the smirk from the sound of Owen’s voice._

_“Nope, got it all covered. Probably going to do a better job at it than you,” Jamie huffed._

_“I highly doubt that, I always nail Valentine’s Day. I cook a very romantic meal for Hannah and myself, and then I set up our living room like a fancy restaurant, and buy a very expensive bottle of wine for us to share - she loves it.”_

_“Right, well I’m taking Dani to “Positano” for a lovely four course meal and then we’re going to go ice skating afterwards to finish the night off. What could be more romantic than that?” Jamie smiled proudly to herself and she finally located her blue blouse from her closet._

_“Jesus, Positano? How far ahead did you have to call to reserve a table?” Owen muttered._

_Jamie slipped on her blouse and walked over to her mirror, to check her reflection. “What do you mean?” She grabbed her favourite pair of earrings and removed the current pair she had in._

_“What do you mean, what do I mean?” Owen’s voice came quietly through the phone._

_“Well like, about calling ahead for a table?” Jamie could feel her heartbeat pick up speed as she was met with silence. “Owen?”_

_“Jamie, please tell me you didn’t just expect to show up and get a table at the most romantic restaurant in Plymouth, on the most romantic day of the year? Please tell me you’re not that daft and that you called ahead?” Owen pleaded._

_“I-” Jamie shut her eyes and slowly exhaled as she felt her chest tightening. “Fuck,” she slammed her fist against her bedroom door._

_“Oh Jamie, what were you thinking?” Owen groaned._

_“I don’t bloody know, this is my first Valentine’s Day that I’ve ever actually gone out on a date, I don’t know what the fuckin’ rules are.”_

_“It’s not rules, it’s common sense you twat.” Jamie could tell Owen was attempting to hold in his laughter._

_“Listen-” Jamie’s eyes widened as she heard knocking coming from her main door. “Shit, that’s Dani. What do I do?” Jamie frowned._

_“Well, there’s always ice skating?” Jamie could hear Owen chuckle and she immediately hung up the phone, cursing as she made her way to the door._

_She opened it and her stomach immediately dropped as she saw how beautiful and dressed up Dani had gotten for the evening._

_“Hey you!” Dani beamed. “Wow, you look great.” She leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss against Jamie’s lips. She then handed a small pink gift bag to Jamie and winked, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”_

_Jamie stared ahead at the black dress Dani had on, and was met with dread as she thought of the best way to tell her girlfriend that she had ruined their first ever Valentine’s Day together. ”Hey Poppins, wow, you look-” Jamie swallowed the large lump in her throat. “Here, why don’t you come in for a few?” Jamie stepped to the side and watched as Dani entered her flat, an excited smile still present._

_“I have been looking forward to this evening all week, I’ve missed you so much and-” Dani looked over at how tense Jamie had become and frowned. “Jamie, what’s wrong?” She reached forward and grabbed her hand._

_Jamie rubbed the back of her neck and stared at the ground as she contemplated on how to break the news. “Dani,” Jamie cleared her throat and finally looked up at her girlfriend. “I kind of fucked up.” Jamie could see the screws turning inside of Dani’s mind and she immediately shook her head, “nothing like that, Poppins.”_

_“Okay…” Dani squeezed Jamie’s hand and offered a small smile, “you can tell me anything.” She could tell how nervous Jamie was behaving and was starting to worry._

_“I didn’t know I had to call ahead for reservations to Positano, so we actually won’t be able to go there tonight, or probably anywhere else for that matter.” Jamie’s eyes trailed to the floor, too afraid to see the disappointment in Dani’s face. “I”m so sorry, this was my first ever Valentine’s Day with someone and the fact it was with you, I just wanted to make it so special and I ended up fuckin’ it up more than I ever thought I could.” Jamie went to pull her hand away but felt Dani’s grip tighten. She looked up and took a step back in surprise when she saw Dani smiling. “You’re- Why are you smiling?”_

_“It’s just adorable that you think that would matter to me, like I’d be upset or mad at you?” Dani chuckled._

_“Well I mean, I literally ruined our first Valentine’s Day together? I wouldn’t blame you for being upset. I’m upset at myself, if I’m being honest,” Jamie sighed._

_Dani shook her head and closed the small distance between them. “Listen, I knew that you’d be new to the dating scene when we first got together, I figured that there may be some situations that require more patience than others, and this is one of those situations. No one is perfect, Jamie. This was an honest mistake, so how could I be mad at you? Besides, the only thing that is important about tonight's that I get to spend it with you. I don’t care where we are, or what we’re eating. As long as it’s with you, we could go eat at Taco Bell for all I care. I just want you there, got it?” Dani grabbed onto Jamie’s waist and pulled her in for a warm embrace._

_There was a silence that filled the space surrounding them as Jamie had contemplated on the best next steps to take. A smirk slowly formed as an idea just hit her. She pulled back from the hug, “well then, what do you say about Taco Bell?”_

_“Honestly,” Dani bit her bottom lip as she looked Jamie up and down with pure admiration. “Seeing you this sexy, I think I’d rather stay in and maybe use the gift I bought for you instead.”_

_“Oh, and what did you buy for me?” Jamie raised an eyebrow as she lightly shook the bag beside her ear._

_“Why don’t you open it and see? Better yet,” Dani slowly backed Jamie into the wall directly behind her, pressing her lips to Jamie’s ear. “How about I show you?” She whispered, she then bit on Jamie’s earlobe, smirking when she heard a shaky breath escape the brunette’s lips._

_“Yeah, I reckon that’ll also work.” Jamie swallowed as she felt Dani’s lips trail across her jawline, back up to her mouth. Dani then tugged on her bottom lip, causing a small moan to emit from Jamie, immediately feeling the heat between her thighs growing rapidly. “Bedroom,” Jamie moaned._

_Dani captured Jamie’s lips into a rough and passionate kiss as she was being pulled forward. The two of them stumbled into the bedroom and landed on top of Jamie’s mattress. Dani lifted herself up Jamie’s body and straddled her hips as she searched inside the pink gift bag, Jamie’s eyes widened as she watched Dani pull out fuzzy pink handcuffs. Dani then looked down, her eyes darkened as she felt Jamie’s hips slightly move underneath her in anticipation._

_“As breathtaking as you look right now, I think we need to get you out of these clothes.” Dani whispered before leaning in for another kiss, pressing her heat further into Jamie as she felt a tongue gently brush against her bottom lip, begging to be explored. Dani could hear the tiniest whimper escape Jamie’s lips as the two of them created an electrifying friction, sending tiny waves of pleasure throughout their bodies._

_Dani’s fingers worked against Jamie’s blouse, as she expertly undid her buttons, one by one. She then pulled the blouse from underneath her as Jamie slightly lifted her body from the bed, granting Dani more accessibility. Dani was quick to undo Jamie’s bra next, sliding it down her arms as well. She looked down at her girlfriend and smiled as she brushed her thumb over her exposed nipple._

_Jamie’s breath hitched as her hips arched, causing Dani’s eyes to shut as she felt the movement against her core. “Fuck,” Jamie hissed as she fellt Dani press harder into her, moving her hips back and forth._

_Dani grabbed both of Jamie’s hands and moved them above her head, pressing them together. She then grabbed the handcuffs and shut a cuff on each wrist, smiling as she did so._

_“You are so beautiful, you know that?” Dani whispered, her eyes trailed down as her hands worked on Jamie’s pants, pulling them off with ease. She threw them to the side and hooked her fingers around Jamie’s panties. She slid them down her legs slowly, her mouth peppering gentle kisses down Jamie’s thighs as she did so._

_“Christ Dani,” Jamie’s hips raised as she felt Dani’s mouth make it’s way back up her thighs, towards her wetness. Dani kissed her way inside of Jamie’s thigh, all the way up to her heat. She pressed a gentle kiss along her folds and slowly dragged her tongue across, tasting Jamie’s desperation._

_“You are soaked,” Dani hummed. She then used her middle finger and slowly pushed it through her soft opening, smiling when she heard Jamie let out a soft moan. She pulled back and placed her hands underneath Jamie's thighs, “turn around,” she demanded._

_“Dani,” Jamie tried to protest but immediately shut her mouth when she felt Dani’s soaked middle finger that had been inside her not even thirty seconds earlier, press against her lips._

_“Shhh,” Dani whispered before pushing her finger inside Jamie’s mouth, letting her taste herself. She then put her hands under Jamie’s back and helped her girlfriend flip onto her stomach._

_Dani then stood up and unzipped her dress, quickly shimmying herself out of it. She crawled her way back up Jamie’s body so she was now lying directly on top of her, and she slowly ran her hand down Jamie’s side, slipping it between her thighs. She pressed kisses along Jamie’s back as she slowly stuck a single digit inside of her, smirking when she felt her girlfriend's hips raise into her own heat._

_She slowly moved her finger in and out of Jamie’s wetness, getting deeper with each thrust. Her mouth continued peppering hot kisses as she worked herself deep inside. After finding the perfect rhythm, Dani added a second finger and listened as Jamie let out a loud moan._

_“Oh fuck, you feel so good baby.” Jamie’s hips rocked against Dani’s hand as she continued to push through her folds, hitting the perfect spot deep inside. Dani moved her lips up to Jamie’s neck and she began kissing along the back of it, moving her fingers faster. “I’m so close,” Jamie muffled against the mattress._

_“Mmm, I can tell.” Dani pressed her mouth against Jamie’s ear as she curled her fingers inside, pulling them out and pushing them back in._

_Eventually, Dani could feel Jamie tighten around her, as she lifted her hips in the air and moaned loudly into her bed, the pleasure rushed through her body as her senses tingled with each and every kiss Dani pressed into her skin._

_Eventually Jamie’s body collapsed back into the bed, with Dani laying beside her. She looked over at Dani, who had a soft smile on her face. “What?” Jamie blushed after Dani refused to look away from her._

_“You’re just so beautiful with everything you do, I just don’t understand how it’s possible.” Dani pulled Jamie closer into her and kissed her shoulder._

_“Oh shut up,” Jamie scoffed. “I must look bloody manky after all that.”_

_Dani shook her head and laughed, “not to me you don’t. You look beautiful, in fact, I think I like you most when you look like this.” Dani pressed her lips to Jamie’s temple._

_“Have I ever told you how lucky I am to have you?” Jamie closed her eyes as she felt Dani’s lips trailing across her bare skin once again. “I screw up our first Valentine’s Day together, and instead of getting angry, you fuck me silly.”_

_Dani laughed and bit her bottom lip. “Don’t get me wrong, while you may be off the hook for messing up our dinner plans tonight, I expect the best orgasm of my life to make up for it.” Dani’s eyes closed as Jamie lowered her cuffed wrists over her head and shoulders, bringing her in even closer._

_“Well we best not waste anymore time then, yeah?” Jamie smirked as she closed the distance between them._

The five of them walked through the mall doors, Olivia stopped and turned around to face everyone. "Okay, so we'll meet back here in two hours then?" Olivia grabbed her phone to check the time.

"That's what we agreed on four times now, isn't it?" Jamie mumbled.

"Listen here, I could do without the attitude, yeah?" Olivia playfully smacked her daughter.

"Well I mean, she has a point. How many more times are you going to confirm with us?" Lindsay rolled her eyes and smirked.

"You know, it amazes me how different yet alike you two are. It also drives me nuts though." Olivia sighed.

"Just leave them here when we go home," Dani shrugged.

Jamie raised an eyebrow. "Don't give the woman ideas," she gasped.

"No, that could actually work. Dani, Gary and I will leave you two here and go home ourselves." Olivia smiled. "I'm so glad to have at least one kind daughter," she grabbed a hold of Dani and hugged her. "Thank you for putting up with Jamie, I know how much of a pain she can be, but I also know how much she loves and appreciates you." She whispered into her ear.

Dani tensed when she heard what Olivia had said. "Anything for my favorite mother-in-law," she quickly replied. "Anyways, we should get shopping. We'll see you here in two hours." Dani quickly grabbed Jamie's hand and dragged her away, wanting to escape the situation out of pure guilt.

"I can't believe you just pulled that," Lindsay sighed.

"I do what I have to for the people I love,” Olivia smiled at both Lindsay and Gary.

"You know if this plan works and they end up staying together - I think I may call you the love guru for the rest of your life." Gary laughed when he felt Lindsay playfully smack his arm.

“Stop feeding her ego,” Lindsay rolled her eyes.

"You may as well start now then, because it will work. Richard and I have so much more planned, they have no idea what’s in store for them." Olivia smiled.

"Don't get your hopes up mam, I know you have this whole idea in your head that they still love each other, but what they went through traumatized both of them and it can't be fixed in the course of a week and a half, especially when they already let it tear them apart." Lindsay frowned as she watched Dani and Jamie enter a store in the distance, already separated from one another.

Olivia slowly exhaled. "I know sweetie, but I have to try. Sometimes the things that hurt you the most as a couple are also what makes you stronger."

"Not with those two, it made them weaker."

"That's just because they're lost. You wait and see through, by the end of all of this, they'll find each other again and when they do…they'll finally be able to address what happened to them and hopefully fix it." Olivia replied.

She really did believe deep down inside that Jamie and Dani were meant to be and with a little work on their marriage, they could get through anything together.

The second Jamie and Dani entered the store; Dani immediately dropped Jamie's hand and walked away from her. Jamie sighed as she watched her wife look through appliances. The next seven days were going to be hard, she knew that much was true. She was going to have to keep reminding herself that whatever was going on between them in the current moment, wasn't actually reality and was only for show.

No matter how many times she told herself though, every time Dani would grab her hand, or hold her, she'd immediately forget because the touch of the other woman brought back a fire inside of her she had long forgotten existed.

Dani's eyes trailed to her wife as she watched her walk around aimlessly. Acting like a couple was just as hard for her as it was for Jamie, it kept reminding her of all the good times and made her miss the other woman more than she was ready to admit to herself. Dani knew that in reality everything that Jamie had been doing the past two nights didn't actually mean anything to her, and that was what hurt her the most, because to Dani, it meant the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope people are still somewhat enjoying this torture, I promise it will get better between them!
> 
> As usual, feedback is always appreciated!
> 
> Also, please feel free to give me ideas for anything you would like to see in their flashbacks with Jamie and Dani. You can be a specific as you like, for example: First New Years together.
> 
> Special shout out to klnk for the Valentine's Day request!
> 
> Also feel free to hit me up on tumblr or twitter @raginage
> 
> Cheers


	5. Day four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter, I imagined Jamie and Dani's first dance to be to "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Haley Reinhart. Up to you if you want to listen during the flashback, here's the link if so!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqLU4wPzDVg

Jamie sat outside on the front porch of her mother's house, watching the rain fall from the sky. It was roughly seven in the morning and truthfully, she hadn't been able to sleep. She couldn't keep her mind off of Dani, and what had been going on between them the last few days. She felt things shifting and she couldn’t tell if it was in a good way, or bad. For herself, she knew it was all good, she was starting to feel more at ease to joke around with Dani and make conversation with her, even just being in her presence was becoming a lot easier.

"Aren't you cold?" A voice snapped Jamie from her thoughts. She looked behind her and saw her sister standing by the front door, wrapped inside of her pink fluffy robe.

Jamie shrugged, not really thinking about how cold it was outside. "M’okay," she smiled at her.

Lindsay walked inside and returned back seconds later with a brown fuzzy blanket. "Are you okay, though?" She took a seat beside her sister, throwing the blanket on top of them as she did so.

"Thanks,” Jamie cleared her throat. “And uh yeah, I'm fine, really." Lindsay could hear the uncertainty in Jamie's voice.

"Jamie, I'm your sister. I know when you're lying and I know when something is bothering you. Right now, I can tell both that you’re lying and that something is bothering you. So spill," she frowned.

Jamie looked away from Lindsay and let out a long depressing sigh. "I need to tell you something, but you have to promise not to say anything to anyone." She looked back at her sister and frowned as she thought of the best way to proceed.

“Tell me, what's going on?" Lindsay patted Jamie’s knee

Jamie bit her lip and remained silent for a good while. "Well," she finally replied, getting the courage to finally speak up. "As you could probably have guessed by now, Dani and I aren't doing so great." She finished, carefully watching Lindsay's reaction.

"What? I had no idea?" Lindsay gasped, her reaction giving more away than she had aimed for. Jamie rolled her eyes and let out a tiny chuckle. "Was that too big?" Lindsay smirked

"Just a bit," Jamie nodded.

"Well, I have noticed things have drastically changed between you two since…" Lindsay trailed off, afraid that speaking the actual words may cause her sister more pain than she was already feeling in the current moment.

Just as Lindsay suspected, Jamie immediately tensed. "Yeah, well I guess you can say that we sort of just drifted. At first everything seemed fine, Dani seemed to have been coping and then one day, she just stopped talking to me." Jamie frowned at the memory.

"Like she actually wasn't saying anything to you whatsoever?" Lindsay cocked an eyebrow.

Jamie shook her head. "No, I mean-" She took a deep breath and exhaled as she thought about how to phrase her next train of thought. "I mean, she used to tell me how she felt. She used to get angry at me, cry to me, hell, yell at me even. At least when that was happening, I knew what she was going through. I told her to take out whatever she was going through on me - I wanted to be the one she got angry at because at least that way, I knew what she was thinking.” Jamie leaned back and closed her eyes,” then one day, she just stopped." She wiped away a hint of a tear that had started to form in the corner of her eye.

She sucked back a deep and encouraging breath, ”one day when I got home from work, she was just sitting in the living room - staring at nothing. I mean Lindsay,” Jamie shifted her body so that she was now facing her sister. “I have never seen someone look so distant and lost in my life. I asked her what was wrong and she wouldn't even answer me. I brushed it off because I figured someone must have said something to upset her, but then it just got worse and worse. She wouldn't talk to me, and when she would talk to me, we'd just fight.” Jamie could feel more tears fall and began to frantically brush them away from her cheeks. 

”Before I knew it we started fighting more and more, I started avoiding coming home early because I was so scared to get into another argument." Jamie couldn't hold the tears back at this point. Talking about what she and Dani had been going through with her sister had made the situation more real and was taking away any chance she had left to pretend.

"Jamie, I'm so sorry. I had no idea," Lindsay frowned, she rested her hand on Jamie’s knee and gave her a gentle squeeze. She really did have no idea it had been that bad for them, she knew it was bad enough to make them want to split up, but she never realized how much it affected them both and the way it made them act towards one another. She then retracted her hand and reached behind her sister's back, slowly rubbing circles it as Jamie broke down.

"M’not done yet," Jamie sniffled. "I got home last week from work and Dani had started with me again because I left my shoes in front of the door. That's how it always starts, with something small and then escalates to something bigger. She started telling me how I'm never home and that I'm probably out fucking random girls. That was it for me, I lost it. I told her how I wasn't happy anymore and I was tired of always fighting, that I wanted to just go back to the way we used to be, when we were happy." Jamie ran her hands through her hair, "and then a few days later she just told me that she didn't want to do this anymore." 

She let out a shaky breath, making Lindsay tense, knowing what was coming next. "At first I thought she meant that she didn't want to fight anymore but then…" Jamie trailed off, looking at her sister for the first time during their conversation. "Then she told me she meant us - she couldn't do us being married anymore." Lindsay's heart shattered into thousands of pieces when she saw how broken her sister looked.

"Jamie I'm…" Jamie cut Lindsay off.

"She asked me for a bloody divorce," Jamie finished. That was it, she was now crying in an uncontrollable manner as she had said the words aloud to herself. She hadn't told anyone yet about what Dani had said to her, not even Owen. So hearing the word divorce come out of her mouth hit her much harder than she expected.

Lindsay looked at Jamie hopelessly. She had no idea what to do or say that was going to make her sister feel better. So instead of even trying, she just grabbed onto her little sister and held her in her arms.

After five minutes of silence and Jamie crying, she finally calmed herself and looked up at her Lindsayr. "Listen, can you leave me alone for a while? I just need to be alone right now." Jamie whispered. Lindsay frowned as she searched her sister's eyes. "I'll be fine. I just need to be alone with my thoughts. I'll come inside in ten minutes, I promise." Jamie could see the look of worry overpower her sister's face.

"Okay, if you're sure?" Lindsay asked cautiously.

Jamie nodded. "I'm sure, please?" She pleaded.

Lindsay sighed and gently kissed Jamie on her forehead. "I'll be right inside the kitchen if you need me, okay?"

"Okay,” Jamie nodded. “And thank you for listening to me, I love you." Jamie flashed her a sad smile.

"I love you too Jamie. Don't worry, you'll get through this. You're strong and independent; I know you'll be okay." Lindsay stood up and looked down at her sister.

"Normally, yeah I would have agreed, especially before I met Dani. But I love her, Linds. She's my everything, my partner - my soulmate." Jamie bit her lip. “Dunno how I’m gonna do anything without her.”

"We'll finish talking about this later, I promise." Lindsay nodded. "Don't worry, you'll be okay." She rested her hand on Jamie’s shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. She then turned around and walked inside, shutting the door gently behind her.

Jamie slumped halfway down the bench and looked into the sky up at the sky as she wondered how she was ever going to live her life without Dani beside her.

Lindsay quickly walked into the kitchen and saw her mother standing by the stove, cooking breakfast. She grabbed her and without any warning spun her around.

"Bloody hell…" Olivia jumped out of her skin as she was face to face with her daughter. "Lindsay, love, what's wrong?" She curiously raised an eyebrow.

"Call pap, since the four of us will be going overnight tomorrow, we need to get him in on this as well. We're going to get those two back together even if I have to kill someone to make it happen." Lindsay clenched her fists as she thought about the state of her sister who was still outside. "And tonight, we're going to make tonight special. Okay?" 

"That's m’girl," Olivia smirked. Lindsay was finally one hundred percent on board with their plan, nothing could go wrong now.

Dani and Jamie both walked side by side along the aisles of the supermarket. Dani had noticed Jamie was quieter than usual, so she kept stealing side glances at her anytime she felt confident that she wouldn’t get caught. "So, your mom said we need to buy potatoes, carrots and flour." Dani’s eyes darted from Jamie to the grocery list she held in her hands.

"Okay," Jamie kept her eyes focused ahead, wanting to avoid any eye contact with her wife. She was still upset from the talk she and Lindsay had earlier and the last thing she wanted was to be left alone with Dani, shopping. But her mother practically shoved the both of them out of the house and left her no say in the matter.

"What's going on with you?" Dani asked as she pushed the shopping cart forward. "Something is off," she finished.

"Why do you assume something is off with me?" Jamie continued to stare straight ahead, refusing to make eye contact with her.

"You're just very cold and distant today, more than usual.” Dani turned her head and concentrated as she searched Jamie’s face.

Jamie turned her face in the opposite direction of her wife, she rolled her eyes at the irony of what Dani had just said, seeing as normally she was the cold and distant one. "I just haven't slept much these past two nights, I'm tired." Jamie mumbled.

"It's really killing you that much to share a bed with me?" Dani shook her head in disappointment, a frown resided on her face when she had realised all the progress she thought the two of them were making, was all in her head. Jamie opened her mouth to protest, but decided against it as she watched Dani walking away, clearly uninterested in anything she had to say. “I’ll go grab the beef, can you grab the wine and I’ll meet you up front?” Dani shouted over her shoulder.

“Aye,” Jamie sighed and made her way over to the aisle in the supermarket that carried the liquor. As Jamie searched up and down for her mother’s favourite wine, she began backing up to get a better look and immediately crashed into something behind her.

“Shit,” a voice hissed and Jamie immediately spun around.

“I am so, so sorry.” Jamie saw a basket on the floor with a few items sprawled out. A very beautiful woman, with bright red hair dropped to her knees in front of her. She was much taller than Jamie, and Jamie would be lying if she said she didn’t feel a little intimidated by it. The woman had beautiful calm blue eyes that for a quick moment, Jamie could have sworn were glaring at her.

“It’s fine,” the woman sighed. She looked up at Jamie and instantly smiled. Jamie kneeled down beside her and helped her with grabbing the items that had fallen from the basket. “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you.”

“Course, it was my fault your basket fell in the first place.” Jamie chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m a clumsy prat when I want to be.”

“I understand, I get the same way when I’m around a beautiful woman.” The redhead smiled and for a moment, Jamie saw her bottom lip tucked between her teeth.

“Right, can’t say I haven’t been there.” Jamie cleared her throat and immediately regretted the reply the second it left her lips. “But anyways, here’s your uh-” Jamie grabbed the last item off the floor and looked over it, “crips.” She smiled as she handed the bag to the beautiful redhead, immediately tensing when she felt the other woman’s fingers brush against the back of her hand as she grabbed the bag.

“Thanks,” the redhead held the bag in front of her and smiled, “for a bad break up. These will be gone in an hour after I get home.”

“Ah, once again, can’t say I haven’t been there.” Jamie gave her a soft smile.

“Yeah, she really did a number on me.” The woman eyed Jamie up and down and this time Jamie was sure she had seen her bite the bottom of her lip as she did so. “I could always use some company, if you’re bored and lonely?”

Jamie’s mouth had slightly opened as the redhead’s words registered. “Oh uh-” Jamie stumbled with her words as she had not expected the interaction to go down in such a way. She then looked down and realised she had her pride 2013 t-shirt on, from the first pride parade she and Dani had attended together. She shook her head and went to reply but the words got lost as she felt a warm familiar hand grab a hold of hers.

She looked beside her and cocked her head when she saw Dani smiling, the softest and sweetest smile that she had gone without seeing for far too long. “Are you all done babe?” Dani’s eyes drifted from Jamie to the redhead beside her.

“Ah,” the woman nodded in reply. “Sounds about right, my apologies. Have a lovely evening,” The redhead smiled and quickly walked away. Jamie was still in awe as she felt Dani’s thumb brushing against the back of her hand.

The two of them stood in silence long after the woman had left. It was eventually Dani who broke that silence when she muttered, “sorry. I could tell you were uncomfortable from the way you were clenching your fists.” Dani nodded towards Jamie’s hands and smiled.

“Yeah, no. I uh, I really appreciate it.” Jamie was unsure of how to react to the situation so she felt it was best to look at Dani as a wild animal in this instance, fearing that making any loud noises or sudden movements may cause her to lose the contact she very much craved and needed from her wife.

And just as if on cue, Jamie’s cellphone blared from the inside of her pocket and Dani immediately jumped and let go of Jamie’s hand. “Shit,” Jamie muttered as she reached into her pocket and pulled the phone out, rolling her eyes when she saw “Mum” flashing across the screen. “It’s mam, she’s probably wondering what’s taking us so long.”

“Right,” Dani nodded. “I’ll uh, meet you up front.” She then walked back up the aisle. Dani looked down at her hand as she continued to walk away, cherishing the warmth that lingered from Jamie’s touch.

Once dinner was done, everyone had sat around the table laughing and talking, except Jamie. She stared at the half eaten food in front of her, her fork moving the vegetables around her plate.

"So what do you say we watch The Wedding Singer tonight?" Olivia snapped her fingers in front of Jamie. "Hello," she shouted.

"Huh?" Jamie looked around at everyone, as all eyes were on her.

"I said we should watch The Wedding Singer, you know, your sister’s favourite movie?" Olivia repeated.

"Sounds cool," Jamie shrugged. She grabbed her glass of wine and quickly emptied the remaining contents into her mouth and down her throat.

She then got up from the table and began making her way over to the living room. Dani quickly got up and followed right behind her. "Seriously, what is going on with you today?" Dani hissed in a hushed tone.

"Nothing, just feeling a bit off," Jamie whispered.

Dani stopped and watched as her wife walked away, she felt her chest tighten as thoughts began to cloud her mind. She knew things were far from perfect, but she had thought things were maybe shifting between them in the last couple of days, and maybe, they were actually getting better. However, the way Jamie had closed herself off from everyone around her for the entire day just brought back dark memories of when things began to take a turn for the worst.

Dani sighed and took her seat beside Jamie on the couch, she hesitated grabbing Jamie’s hand, but knew questions would be raised if she didn’t. Jamie's inside's churned as she felt Dani lace their fingers together. As much as she missed the feeling, she really didn't know how much more torture she could take. As much as Jamie didn’t want to look at it that way, that’s what it was to her - torture. Pretending to act like a happily married couple with Dani, during the last couple of days, doing all of those things for show instead of the love the two of them once shared, was cutting her deeper than anything she had ever experienced before.

Olivia bent down and looked through a bunch of VHS tapes. "I know I have it here somewhere," she searched through a stack beside the TV.

"Why can't you just bloody purchase DVD's like a normal person? I honestly think you're the only person left in this world who still watches old VHS tapes,” Jamie rolled her eyes. 

“Especially ones you never even purchased, and just recorded from the TV." Lindsay smirked as she watched her mother scrounge around for the tape.

"Shut up. Nothing will ever beat the good old days when VHS was still relevant." Olivia muttered. "Ah hah, here it is." Olivia smiled as she held a tape in front of her. She stuck it inside the VHS player and quickly took her seat beside Richard.

She pressed play and everyone watched as the screen went from black, to blue. What came next though was not The Wedding Singer. Jamie felt her stomach drop when she saw her and Dani slow dancing in the middle of a large dance floor, both of them wearing wedding dresses.

"Mam," Jamie went to get up but was stopped by her mother.

"Oh my god, this isn't Adam Sandler!" She laughed. "Aw, I haven't watched this since you two got married." She looked over at both women and smiled.

Dani's heart sank as she watched the past version of her on the screen, the version that was smiling and nuzzled right into Jamie's neck as they both slowly danced in each other’s arms for their first time as a married couple.

"Mam," Jamie’s tone was harsh and stern this time.

"Oh hush. Let's just watch it for five minutes and then we'll turn it off." Olivia waived her daughter away.

Jamie frowned as she watched the screen, watched how happy she and Dani had looked as they embraced one another. She could feel her throat tighten as their wedding song “Can’t Help Falling in Love” blared through the speakers of the TV. 

She let out a shaky breath when the dance finally ended and everyone else had gone about their nights, dancing and talking with one another.

Jamie couldn't stop herself from smiling as she saw Hannah in the background yelling at her. She remembered exactly what she was yelling at her about. Jamie had dared Owen to take five shots of rum, knowing full well what rum does to him.

_August 12th, 2015-_

" _If he gets sick tonight, you’ll be the one cleaning it up!” Hannah huffed. “I really hope you don’t intend to treat your new wife the same way you treat your best mate.”_

_Jamie rolled her eyes and smirked as she leaned into Hannah’s ear. "Hannah, you have nothing to worry about. I won't do anything to hurt Dani, not now and not ever." She reassured her._

_Hannah went to reply but closed her mouth when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Hannah, may I have a minute with my wife please?" A beautiful Dani stood behind her best friend, smiling._

" _Of course," Hannah nodded. She then looked back at Jamie and brought her two fingers up to her eyes, indicating she would be watching her._

" _You looked like you could use the rescuing, thought I could use it as an excuse to come and see you." Dani grabbed Jamie's hand and pulled her forward._

" _You never need an excuse to come and see me, Poppins" Jamie smiled. She closed her eyes as she leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss against Dani’s lips._

 _Dani smiled against Jamie's lips._ " _I love you so much, it's ridiculous." Dani sighed as they both pulled back._

_Jamie smiled and pushed a strand of hair from Dani's face. "I mean, I’m not going to disagree with ya. It is a bit ridiculous that someone as perfect as you could love someone like me.”_

" _You're impossible," Dani brought both her hands up to Jamie’s face, cupping both her cheeks. “You are the most incredible person I have ever met, you’re beautiful, funny, caring and seriously charming. I forget what my life was like before you, and I don’t care to try and remember.” Dani lifted her heels from the ground as she went on her tiptoes and kissed Jamie’s forehead._

" _I am impossibly and hopelessly in love with you," Jamie shuddered._

" _You know, I can't believe how happy I am." Dani blushed. "I mean, I am so happy, Jamie. It feels unreal, like this is all just a dream and tomorrow I'm going to wake up and you won't exist."_

_Jamie shook her head. "Tomorrow when you wake up, I'll be beside you. I'll be holding you in my arms, kissing the back of your neck, pulling you in as close as I can get you because no matter how close I am to you, it never feels close enough." Jamie corrected her._

_Dani had no words to say to Jamie that would describe how she felt. Instead, she grabbed her once again and kissed her deeply. Their hands tightened around one another's frames as their lips moved in sync. Dani pulled back smiling at Jamie._

" _I love you so much Jamie Taylor." Dani whispered._

" _I love you even more, Dani Taylor." Jamie smiled as she heard the words escape her mouth._

" _I'll never get tired of hearing that, Dani Taylor." Dani sighed._

" _You two are so cute it's killing me!" Jamie looked behind Dani into the video camera and rolled her eyes._

" _Rich, get the hell out of here." She groaned._

" _Not a bloody chance, he knows if he misses any of these cute moments I'm going to end his life." Olivia came from behind him, smiling._

" _Mam," Jamie whined._

" _Oh calm down, I just wanted to get a close up of the newlyweds." Olivia rolled her eyes at her daughter._

" _Why can't you have a normal video camera like everyone else? Why do you insist on keeping this antique piece of shite around?" Jamie groaned as she stuck her hand in front of the camera._

"J _ust because it's ten years old doesn't mean I should get rid of it, Jamie. Let me ask you something: ten years from now when you and Dani are still married, will you get rid of her just because she’ll be a bit old and outdated?" Olivia asked._

_“Mam,” Jamie’s jaw was agape._

_Dani chuckled and shook her head, “I feel so welcomed into the family.”_

_“Hush, my sweet. You know I love you more than my own child here. But she needs to answer the question, I have a point to make.” Olivia winked at Dani and then looked back at Jamie._

_Jamie shook her head and looked over at her wife. "No mam, you’re right. Never, Dani and I will be married for the rest of our lives and even when we're eighty years old, she'll still be the only person I’ll ever want to spend anytime with." She smiled when she saw her wife blushing._

" _So then leave my antique video camera the hell alone!" Olivia shot out, ruining the moment. Dani laughed and shook her head at her new family and how ridiculously amazing they were._

-Present 2019-

Dani stared at the TV screen, feeling tears come from her eyes when she heard what Jamie had said. She went to wipe them away, but before she could there was already another hand wiping them for her. She looked over at Jamie, who also had tears in her eyes. They both frowned at one another, both heartbroken and for the first time, both witnessing what the other was going through. 

Without really thinking twice, Jamie stared deep into Dani’s eyes and could feel her heart race as she watched Dani slowly lean forward. Their eyes closed as their lips brushed against each other, it started out soft and then gradually they both became more and more desperate, longing for this exact moment for the last ten months. It came natural, it was initiated by both and most of all, for the first time in a long time, it wasn't for show.

Olivia leaned into Richard’s ear and smiled, “told you it would work.” She sat back and watched happily as her daughter and Dani shared a beautiful moment together, one that none of them planned on interrupting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys, I'm sure most of you have figured out what caused the heartbreak by now but I'll be sharing/confirming the next chapter!
> 
> As usual, comments feed my ego and help me write faster!
> 
> Or reach out on tumblr @ Raginage
> 
> Cheers

**Author's Note:**

> So let me know your thoughts, what you guys think! Any questions you may have even, I'll be happy to address them.
> 
> Hit me up on tweeter or tumblr @raginage
> 
> As usual, feedback is appreciated!


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